


The Hazards of Love 1

by backslashdelta



Series: The Hazards of Love [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: (Prior) Death of a Parent, And then not so Blaine friendly, Angst, Bi!Blaine, Biphobia, Blaine friendly up to a point, Bullying, Dalton!Klaine, Dubious Consent, Friends to Lovers, High School, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Drug Use, Kurt being anxious about everything, M/M, MInor Blaine Anderson/Brittany S. Pierce, Not Blaine or Klaine Friendly, Podfic Available, Pre-Relationship, Sexual Assault, Slurs, Smut, So much angst, Trauma from Sexual Assault, Unaccepting Parents, Underage Drinking, Unreciprocated feelings, Victim Blaming, although they are still together at the end, borderline emotional manipulation, but even canon isn't canon compliant so just go with it please, but not really, friends klaine, self victim blaming, unsupportive parents, vaguely canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:47:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 28
Words: 51,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25816786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backslashdelta/pseuds/backslashdelta
Summary: When Kurt meets Blaine, he seems too good to be true. Blaine is sweet, attractive, talented, and most importantly, Blaine is gay. Kurt figures he'll never have a chance. But when Blaine realizes he feels the same way, can these fast friends make a relationship work? And is Blaine everything he seems to be on the surface?
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Brittany S. Pierce, Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Series: The Hazards of Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873168
Comments: 95
Kudos: 57





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first installment in a 4-part series I have planned. This fic is essentially completed and I will be posting updates regularly as I make final edits. Vaguely canon compliant up to but not including the incident with Karofsky and the bullying getting worse. I say vaguely because I've played with the timeline a bit, Blaine is a senior while Kurt is a junior, but the overall storyline of how they met and other general things that happened canonically can be assumed to be the same/similar here. I've tried to tag everything that I think might be a trigger, but please let me know if there is anything I've missed and I will happily add it.

It's the first day back after Christmas break, and Kurt steps out of his car and walks across the parking lot to the front doors of William McKinley High School, straightening his coat as he looks around. It's been a long time since he's needed to worry about being tossed into dumpsters on his way into the school; that had tended to be Puck's favoured method of torture, and since Puck joined Glee club, he's laid off Kurt. Kurt might even go so far as to say they've gained a mutual respect for each other. Just because a few popular people have joined Glee club doesn't make the club itself popular, though. And being the weird gay kid attracts all kinds of attention in high school even without Glee club. In Kurt's experience, every last bit of that attention is negative. He takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and walks through the front doors.

Kurt keeps an eye out, but doesn't see any of his regular tormentors as he begins to make his way through the halls toward his locker, and he lets out a small breath of relief. On the worst days, David Karofsky will be just inside the front doors, as though he's been waiting. He'll follow Kurt all the way to his locker, calling him every slur in the book and then some, laughing at whatever designer outfit Kurt has picked out that day. Sometimes Kurt will let a witty retort slip, but that usually just brings on the threats, so he's found it's typically best to keep his mouth shut and ignore Karofsky as best he can; that, at least, doesn't tend to make things any _worse_.

He turns the corner to the hallway his locker is in, and somehow he hasn't seen a single red letterman jacket yet this morning. He enters his combination and pulls the locker open, then hangs his coat inside; he's comfortable enough to wear his expensive coats to school now that he isn't regularly being tossed into dumpsters, but he won't wear them through the halls longer than absolutely necessary because you never know when you'll find a jock with a slushy in hand just for you. As he pulls out the books he needs for his first class, he feels a hard shoulder check into his back, forcing his body into the bank of lockers and dropping his books to the floor. He turns to see Karofsky and Azimio continuing down the hallway, Karofsky looking back and laughing at him. Kurt looks away and crouches to collect his books, sliding them into his satchel. If he doesn't need to deal with any degrading language before first period, he counts this as a good morning. Sighing, he pushes his locker door closed, and Mercedes appears by his side.

"Hey, you okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine, 'Cedes. Just some Neanderthals that haven't yet realized they'll be lucky to clean my understudy's dressing room in 10 years when I'm a Broadway star." Kurt gives her a tight smile, and clicks his lock closed.

Mercedes laughs, "You think any of those boys will be lucky enough to clean your understudy's dressing room?"

Kurt tilts his head to the ceiling for a moment, feigning deep thought, before nodding in agreement. "No, I suppose not. They're woefully under qualified."

Mercedes links her arm through Kurt's as they head down the hallway together. "We need a shopping date soon, by the way. I need some new clothes."

Kurt smiles at his best friend as they make their way to the first class of the day. "You know I always love an opportunity to help you look gorgeous."

"Are you free on Saturday?"

"I'm all yours."

* * *

Blaine plops into the chair opposite Kurt at the Lima Bean as Kurt slides a coffee across the table to him.

"Sorry I'm late. Wes decided to call an emergency Warblers meeting just as I was getting ready to head out because he couldn't find his gavel." Blaine smiles apologetically, then takes a sip of his coffee.

Kurt snorts at that. "Did he find it?"

"Yeah, it was in his room under a pile of dirty laundry." Blaine rolls his eyes fondly as he places his coffee back on the table and wraps both hands around it. "How was your day?"

"No worse than usual," Kurt shrugs.

Blaine smiles back sadly, "I wish you didn't have to deal with... well, you know. Everything."

"Me too," Kurt agrees, "but that's just public school in Ohio." Kurt takes a quick sip of his coffee. Really, his day was pretty good, all things considered, and he doesn't think there's any sense in lingering on it. "What about yours?"

"Well, aside from the missing gavel fiasco, it was pretty uneventful. I had a French test that I probably tanked, but nothing new there. David tried to help me study, but he's really an awful teacher," Blaine laughs.

"Je suis sûr que t'as fait incroyable," Kurt smirks at him.

Blaine glares back playfully. "Tu est un mauvais manchot."

Kurt laughs, "On the other hand, maybe not."

Blaine's eyes widen, "What? What did I say?" and Kurt sees the slight blush in his cheeks.

"You just called me a bad penguin," Kurt manages between giggles.

Blaine laughs back, "Well I guess it still gets my point across."

"At least you didn't call me a girl penguin," Kurt points out with a smirking.

"Of course not. I know what I'm saying! And besides, you're too handsome to be a girl penguin," Blaine insists with a goofy smile.

Did Blaine really just call him _handsome_? Because Blaine is handsome, but Kurt is... well, he's Kurt. He knows he looks good, of course, but that's because he puts effort into his wardrobe and style; nobody ever really thinks of him as _handsome_. And that _smile_. Kurt both loves and hates that goofy smile. He loves it because, well, have you _seen_ it? Blaine is adorable and that smile just _does things_ to Kurt. But he hates it for the same reason; he has to remind himself that Blaine still barely knows him, that even though they've been talking and hanging out a lot since they met, and Kurt has told Blaine things that he hasn't told anyone else, a few weeks is not enough time to really know someone. And there's no way that Blaine likes Kurt back, and even if he did know Kurt better, he still probably wouldn't like him back. That goofy smile fades and a look of mild confusion crosses Blaine's face, and Kurt realizes he's just been staring at Blaine, and how long has he been doing that?

"You have no idea what you're saying," Kurt says, shooting Blaine a smile and hoping the blush isn't too obvious in his cheeks, and Blaine is smiling again too as he starts telling Kurt about the songs the Warblers have been working on this week, and Kurt just wonders how he was lucky enough to find someone like Blaine Anderson in Ohio, even if they can only be friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read so far! This is a very heavy chapter; probably the heaviest in the entire fic. So be warned. TW for homophobic slurs and sexual assault. Also note that I've taken some dialogue in this chapter directly from the show, and of course the scene that dialogue is from is adapted here as well.

Kurt closes his locker door, then hoists his satchel up onto his shoulder. It's been a long day, and all he wants is to go home and enjoy the weekend, free from the hell that is high school. He turns to walk down the hall toward the main entrance, and is immediately greeted by Karofsky shoulder checking him into the bank of lockers.

"See you Monday, homo," Karofsky calls over his shoulder, not even turning to look at Kurt. He knows he should let it go, but Karofsky has been relentless today, and really the whole week has been awful, and something in him just snaps. Before he realizes what he's doing, Kurt is storming down the hallway after Karofsky.

"Hey," he calls, but Karofsky continues down the hallway and into the locker room. Kurt follows him inside, "Hey! I am talking to you!"

"Girls' locker room is next door," Karofsky replies as he swings open a locker and pulls some clothes out, back still turned to Kurt.

"What is your problem?" Kurt asks, coming closer.

Karofsky finally turns to meet Kurt's eyes. "Excuse me?"

"What are you so scared of?" Kurt asks, staring right back, and it kind of feels _good_ , standing up for himself like this.

"Besides you sneaking in here to peek at my junk?" Karofsky scoffs, turning away again and stuffing the clothes from his locker into his backpack.

"Oh yeah, every straight guy's nightmare -- that all us gays are out to secretly molest and convert you. Well, guess what? You're not my type!"

Karofsky turns to Kurt again and takes a step closer. "That right?"

"Yeah. I'm not into chubby boys who sweat too much and are going to be bald by the time they're 30." Kurt spits out.

"Do not push me, Hummel," Karofsky warns, raising a fist and taking a step closer to Kurt.

"You gonna hit me? Do it." Kurt stands his ground, looking Karofsky straight in the eye. He thinks of Blaine and _courage_ and he feels _strong_.

"Don't push me!" Karofsky raises his voice and shoves Kurt backward into the bank of lockers, stepping forward again and blocking Kurt's path to the door.

Kurt doesn't break eye contact. "Go ahead, do it. Hit me, 'cause it's not going to change who I am. You can't punch the gay out of me any more than I can punch the ignoramus out of you!"

"GET OUTTA MY FACE!" David yells at him, voice now at full volume, and normally Kurt would flinch but the adrenaline is pumping through his veins and he's not sure where this is coming from but he feels strong and he refuses to back down now.

"You are nothing but a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinarily ordinary you are."

Karofsky closes the distance between them, and Kurt is expecting a punch to the gut, but instead he feels a hand on the back of his neck, fingers in his hair, lips on his and he freezes. This is not at all what he was expecting. Karofsky's mouth is warm and rough and Kurt should push him away, wants to push him away, but he can't _move_. The fingers grip his hair more tightly, and then he feels another hand sliding down to find his waist. And then it's sliding down further, cupping and groping him through the front of his pants, and this isn't happening. This _can't_ be happening. Kurt's never even _kissed_ a boy, let alone anything further, and this can't... this isn't how this is supposed to happen. The first boy to touch him like this should be someone he loves, someone he _wants_ to do this with, not the boy who has been tormenting him since he walked through the front doors of this school on his first day of freshman year. Finally, he finds it in himself to move, and he pushes Karofsky away roughly. The other boy stumbles back, surprised, and they stare at each other for a moment, Kurt's eyes wide with shock and fear. But then Karofsky is on him again, pinning him roughly to the lockers and reaching down to undo Kurt's belt.

"This is what you want, isn't it?" his voice is rough and angry in Kurt's ear, and Kurt wants to argue that _no it isn't_ , but he can't move, can't speak, can't _breathe_.

Karofsky's hands make quick work of undoing his belt, and then there's a hand reaching into the front of his pants, touching and groping him _there_ , and somehow he finds it in himself to finally speak, "Please, David, stop. Don't do this. Don't-"

His pleading is cut short as Karofsky slams him back into the lockers again, gripping his shoulders with both hands, and the breath races out of Kurt's lungs at the force of the impact but at least the hands are on his shoulders now and not _there_.

"You should be thanking me, Hummel. This is what all you faggots want, right? " Karofsky is leering at him as he reaches down to undo his own belt, and Kurt is paralyzed by fear for a moment before his flight response kicks in again and he's driving a knee into Karofsky's crotch. Karofsky doubles over in pain, and Kurt doesn't pause to hear whatever words follow as he grabs his bag and runs down the hallway toward the exit faster than he thinks he's ever run before.

He makes it all the way to his car, locking it as soon as the door is shut, before he finally lets himself break down. It's dark out now, and he's shaking, tears streaming down his face, strangled sobs coming from his mouth. He pulls his phone from his bag, almost dropping from his shaking hands, and he's calling Blaine before he even realizes what he's doing.

Blaine picks up on the second ring. "Hey Kurt! What's up?" he greets cheerily, and Kurt hears voices growing fainter in the background because _of course_ ; Kurt had completely forgotten that Blaine was busy right now.

Kurt doesn't say anything, but he must not be doing a very good job of muffling his sobs because Blaine has noticed.

"Are you crying? What's wrong?" he asks worriedly.

"N- nothing, sorry, I-," Kurt starts, but he cuts himself off with another sob.

"Kurt, are you hurt? Where are you?" Blaine asks, a hint of panic seeping into his voice.

"I'm- No, I- I'm sorry, Blaine, you- you're busy, uh- I'll talk to you later," Kurt pulls his phone away from his ear and ends the call; he doesn't know how to explain this to Blaine. Isn't even sure why he called Blaine in the first place. He sits in silence for a few moments, trying to get his breathing under control so he can drive anywhere that isn't here.

He's just about managed to stop the tears when his phone rings, and he looks to see Blaine's name across the screen. He answers, but doesn't speak; what can he say?

"Kurt? Are you there?"

"I'm here," Kurt replies, and he's happy to hear his voice sounding a little stronger than it did before he'd hung up.

"What happened, Kurt?"

"It's nothing, Blaine, really, I-" Kurt pauses, sniffling and wiping away the last of his tears, "you're busy; you should get back to your friends."

"You _are_ my friend," Blaine insists, "and I don't know what happened, but I can tell you are definitely not okay."

Kurt doesn't say anything, because Blaine is right, but he doesn't want to admit that.

"Where are you? I'll come to you."

"I don't want to stay here," he says quickly, because really he doesn't, his high school is the absolute last place he wants to be right now.

"Alright, okay. Well tell me where to go and I'll meet you there."

Kurt was going to tell Blaine not to come. To stay where he was, with his friends, enjoy his evening, and hang up. But what he says instead is "Can I come there," and it comes out barely above a whisper, but Blaine hears him.

"Yeah, sure. Of course," Blaine says, and Kurt can hear some of the tension leave his voice. "I'll be in my room. You know where to find me."

"Thank you," Kurt says, and then he hangs up, a fresh set of tears streaming down his face as he starts the car and makes his way to Dalton.

* * *

He's sure his face is still red and splotchy, but Kurt has managed to calm himself and stop the crying by the time he's standing at Blaine's door and knocking lightly. Blaine must have been waiting, because it opens in what must be no more than a second after his knock, and then Kurt is being pulled into Blaine's arms and he can't help but stiffen a little at the unexpected contact.

"Sorry, you just look like you could use a hug," Blaine explains, dropping his arms back to his side and taking a small step back. "Not that you look _bad_ , you don't, just, you uh-" Blaine tried, stumbling over his words.

"Blaine, it's fine. Thank you." Kurt cuts in, voice quiet, and it's nowhere close to his usual snark because he honestly just doesn't have it in him right now. Kurt stands awkwardly in the doorway for a few more moments before Blaine seems to remember his manners.

"Come in, come sit, sorry, I just- Sorry," Blaine stutters as he motions for Kurt to come further into the room and closes the door.

Kurt sits gingerly on the edge of Blaine's bed, and Blaine sits across from him in the chair at the desk. They stare silently at each other for a while, neither one knowing quite what to say to the other.

Finally, Blaine breaks the silence. "Kurt, what happened?" Blaine's hand reaches over to rest on Kurt's thigh, but that's just _too_ close to where other hands were touching him and he flinches away at Blaine's touch. Blaine is immediately pulling away, an apology in his eyes, but he doesn't say anything. He threads is fingers together and holds his hands in his lap, eyes trained on Kurt's face.

Kurt swallows and looks down at the floor between them. "I was, um- it's nothing, I just-" he takes in a ragged breath, but doesn't continue. How does he begin to explain this? Does he even _want_ to? And really, he should have known better than to put himself in that situation. What would Blaine think of him? He felt dirty and ashamed and _how could he have let this happen_? Sure, he'd never really thought Karofsky would do something like _this_ , but what was he thinking, following him into that locker room, calling after him and yelling in his face? What did he expect? He feels tears prickling in his eyes again when Blaine's voice pulls him from his thoughts.

"Kurt? Did... someone hurt you?"

Kurt looks up at Blaine for a moment and sees the concern written across Blaine's face, and then his eyes are back on the floor because he really can't look Blaine in the eyes right now.

"I can't," Kurt breaths, and it really is more a breath than a whisper, but he's pretty sure Blaine still hears it because the room is dead silent.

Blaine pauses. "You can't... what?" he asks. "Kurt, I don't know what happened, but... I'm here. You can talk to me about whatever it is. "

Kurt looks up at Blaine again, and he's trying to fight back the tears that are threatening to fall, and he's pretty sure he's losing.

"Blaine, I... I _can't_ ," his voice cracks on the last word, and his tears are barely falling before Blaine is on the bed beside Kurt, arms wrapped around his shaking, sobbing frame and Kurt doesn't flinch away this time, just curls into Blaine's arms because it's _Blaine_ and it's safe and he needs this, he thinks.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here, I've got you. You're okay," Blaine murmurs in Kurt's ear, rubbing his hands up and down Kurt's arms.

They sit there on the bed for a long time, Blaine whispering reassurances in Kurt's ear, until Kurt's strangled sobs calm to sniffles, and Kurt pulls away. Blaine settles his hands back in his lap, but stays seated on the bed beside Kurt.

"You don't have to tell me what happened, Kurt, but... you can. If you want. It doesn't have to be now, but... If you ever want to, I'll listen," Blaine tries. Kurt nods his head and looks at the floor again, but says nothing. He can't; not right now, anyway. Maybe someday, but not right now.

The boys sit in silence a while longer before Kurt speaks again. "I should probably get home. My dad will be worried."

"Are you sure?" Blaine asks, and Kurt sees him glancing at the clock. "It's late, and it's a long drive... You could stay here." Blaine looks a little surprised that he's said it, and Kurt stares back, wide-eyed.

"I... I don't know..."

"You don't have to, but... I'm sure you're tired, and I don't want you driving that far in the dark if you're tired," Blaine seems a little more sure of himself now, and that makes Kurt feel a little better about the idea.

If he goes home right now, his dad will know something is wrong, and he won't stop asking until he gets an answer. And honestly, Kurt's not sure that's something he can handle right now. But he also knows that his father would absolutely not approve of a sleepover with a boy, and _especially_ not if he knew that boy was Blaine. He weighs his options for a moment, silently, deciding on his best course of action. He'll tell his dad that he's at Rachel's for the night; his dad will believe him. He pulls out his phone and shoots off a text to his father. It's the safest option, since he doesn't really trust himself not to start crying again, and his dad would know something was up if he started crying on the phone. Burt's response is nearly instantaneous; he must have been sitting with the phone in his hand waiting, Kurt muses to himself, and he slips the phone back into his pocket.

"I'll stay."

Blaine's eyes widen a little at that.

"Is that okay...? I can go, if you'd rather," Kurt offers, but he's really hoping that Blaine hasn't changed his mind.

"No, no, sorry, I just... That's great! Yeah. Um, I'll grab you something you can wear for pajamas." Blaine says as he begins rifling through drawers. He pulls out a pair of blue and grey plaid pajama pants and a red Dalton t-shirt and hands them to Kurt. "I hope these are okay," he smiles sheepishly.

Kurt takes the offered clothes in his arms and offers his own smile, though he's sure it must be a sad attempt. "Thanks," and then he heads to the bathroom to change.


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt nestles closer to the warm body in front of him, burying his face in Blaine's back and inhaling his scent. And then his eyes snap open because _why is Blaine in his bed_? He sits up, surveying the room, and realizes that Blaine isn't in his bed, but rather, _he's in_ _Blaine's bed_ , and memories of the day before come rushing back to him. Karofsky and the locker room and crying in Blaine's arms and god he hopes that Blaine won't look at him any differently when he finally wakes up. He looks down at the mess of curly hair and stops himself from reaching out to run his fingers through it; Blaine showered before bed last night, and Kurt has never seen him without the gel but it's kind of adorable.

Then there's pounding on the door and a voice, Kurt thinks it might be Wes, calling to Blaine to get his butt out of bed. Blaine rolls onto his back with a groan, eyes still closed.

"Wuh d'you wan Wes," Blaine mumbles, loud enough that apparently the boy, who Kurt is now sure is Wes, must have heard it because he's laughing on the other side of the door.

"Get up Blaine or so help me god I will come in there and make you get up," comes the reply, but Kurt can hear the smile in Wes' voice and he laughs quietly to himself.

Blaine's eyes snap open at the sound, and now he's staring wide-eyed and confused at Kurt. Kurt stares back, not really sure what he should say; is it okay that he's here? Does Blaine want him to leave? Blaine probably wants him to leave. He shouldn't have stayed. Why did he stay? But he doesn't have any more time to think about that because then the confusion melts away from Blaine's face, replaced with a soft smile, so maybe everything isn't so bad after all.

"Hey, uh... did you sleep well?"

Kurt doesn't have a chance to respond before Wes' voice interrupts. "Who are you talking to in there? Is that Kurt? Kurt are you there? Can you tell Blaine to hurry up and get his ass out here? I have a date with Sara in an hour, and Blaine _insisted_ that he needs to help me choose my clothes, because apparently I have no sense of style"

Kurt's blushing now, and why is he blushing? It's not weird that he stayed the night with Blaine, they're _friends_ , that's a thing that friends do together. Thankfully, Blaine doesn't seem to notice, as he gets up and pads across the floor toward his closet.

"Go back to your room, Wes. I'll be there in ten." He seems a little more awake now as he shuffles through the clothes in his closet.

Kurt sits on the bed, staring at the back of Blaine's head, not quite sure what to do. He should probably leave, he figures. Blaine probably has things to do, well, he _definitely_ has at least one thing to do right now, apparently, and he probably doesn't want Kurt in his way. Kurt stands and walks to Blaine's desk, picking up the neat pile of folded clothes he left there after changing into the pajamas Blaine had lent him last night.

"I'll just go change, and then I'll head out," he says awkwardly.

Blaine turns from his closet at that, a couple hangers in his hands. "Oh, if you want," he says, and he sounds almost disappointed.

"Well I'm sure you have plans today, and I don't want to get in your way and really I should have gone home last night and-," Kurt starts to explain quickly, until Blaine interrupts him with a light laugh.

"Kurt, you're not in my way. I don't have any plans today. I'd love it if you hung around," Blaine smiles warmly at Kurt, and Kurt melts a little at that but he tries to fight back the blush that threatens to colour his cheeks. "Besides, I could use all the help I can get helping Wes pick out an outfit for his date," Blaine adds with another, fuller laugh, then turns back to his closet to continue looking for an outfit for the day.

Kurt pads over to the closet and stands beside Blaine as he holds up two different hangers, trying to decide on a shirt.

"That one," Kurt says, pointing to the black polo hanging from the hanger in Blaine's right hand, "with these," he adds as he pulls out a pair of slim red jeans.

Blaine looks at him, a smile on his face. "Yeah, I could definitely use your help with Wes."

* * *

When Blaine told Kurt that he could use some help, Kurt didn't think it would be _this_ bad.

Blaine is sitting back on the bed, and Wes is standing beside Kurt as he rummages through Wes' closet, tossing clothes haphazardly across the bed. Wes is trying to argue the merits of his wardrobe, but Kurt is tuning out most of what he's saying because there really is no defence for most of these clothes.

"There is nothing wrong with that shirt!" Wes exclaims as Kurt tosses yet another article of clothing onto Wes' bed, a look of distaste on his face. "My mother gave me that for Christmas!"

Kurt pauses with his hand on another hanger and swivels to look Wes directly in the eyes. "That's even _worse_! You can't still be letting your mother choose your clothes, Wes. No wonder half your wardrobe is unwearable, and the other half is...," Kurt doesn't finish his sentence, just goes back to tossing more clothes onto the bed. Really, this boy is unbelievable; Kurt wonders briefly how Blaine manages to be friends with him, and quickly concludes he must only be able to tolerate the fashion travesty that is Wesley Montgomery because he's wearing a Dalton uniform eighty percent of the time.

"My mother doesn't choose _all_ my clothes. What, your mom doesn't ever give you clothes for Christmas? Or she does, and you just throw them all out?" Wes responds, and while Kurt can hear the teasing tone in Wes' voice, he can't help the twist he feels in his gut at the thought of his own mother.

He collects his thoughts for a moment before responding coolly, "my mother would never give me a shirt with ducks on it, Wes. I mean, _ducks_ , really?" And it's true. He remembers vividly his mother's beautiful dresses, the colourful and classy prints, the long flowing scarves she owned. Her beautiful collection of jewellery. She always looked beautiful in whatever she was wearing, and maybe it was partly because it was his mother, but he knows style and he knows that his mother had it, and that's one of the reasons it's so important to him.

"Right, I'm sure your mom's taste in fashion is so much better," Wes teases, "maybe I should be letting her pick out my clothes instead."

It's not that he can't talk about his mother. She died a long time ago, and he's mostly come to accept it, and he doesn't really have a problem telling people that she passed. But it's always a little awkward before people know, because they just _assume_ that he still has a mom. It's a fair assumption, because really, most kids his age do, but it still hurts when he realizes how _not normal_ this is, how _unfair_ it is that everybody else gets to have their mom and he doesn't. And he knows that nobody means to upset him, they just don't think. So he figures the best way to deal with it is to just put it all out there.

"She can't, she's dead."

Wes is staring at Kurt now, and Kurt sees the mild panic flitting across Wes' face from the corner of his eye as he resumes flipping through the hangers. "I, uh... Shit, Kurt, I didn't know, I'm sorry," he manages to stutter out.

"It's fine," Kurt responds flippantly, "go put these on." And it is fine, really, he just wants Wes to drop it.

Kurt holds out a simple white button-up and a pair of slim black pants toward Wes, who nods after a moment and takes them from Kurt before silently making his way to the bathroom to change. Kurt goes back to rooting through the closet, looking for a pair of shoes that won't entirely clash with the clothes he just handed to Wes, relaxing a bit now that the topic of conversation has hopefully moved on.

"Are you alright Kurt?" comes Blaine's voice from behind him

Kurt doesn't even stop to look at Blaine when he responds. "I'm fine."

There's another moment of silence before Wes is coming out of the bathroom, hand on his hip, strutting into the middle of the bedroom. He twirls before fluttering his eyelashes at Kurt.

"How do I look?"

Kurt rolls his eyes, but he can't help but crack a small smile as he does it, because honestly, Wes is a goof and he figures _this_ must be the real reason Blaine can put up with him.

"It will have to do," Kurt sighs. "Here, put these shoes on," he adds.

Wes takes the black dress shoes Kurt holds out to him, then plops onto the floor to put them on. Kurt rolls his eyes again as he watches.

Wes stands up, gesturing to himself with a smile as he asks, "do I meet your high standards yet?"

Kurt chances a glance at Blaine, who seems to be equally amused, before he responds. "No, but about as close as you're going to get with this wardrobe."

"Well, I'll take that as a win," Wes beams, then looks down at his watch and frowns. "Ah crap, I'm supposed to meet Sara in 15 minutes!" he says, grabbing his wallet and keys and he's out the door before Kurt or Blaine can even react.

"You really should have warned me that it was this bad," Kurt scolds, voice light and teasing.

"I told you he needed help! I was not kidding. I don't joke about this kind of thing, Kurt," Blaine reassures, smiling.

"Good. Fashion is nothing to joke about," Kurt responds, smiling back.

* * *

Kurt is sitting in the Dalton common room with Blaine when it occurs to him he hasn't heard from anyone yet today. He's not popular by any means, but it's unusual that he goes away without texting with Mercedes, Tina, or Rachel. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, and that's when he notices he'd forgotten to turn it off silent when he woke up this morning, because he has eight missed calls from Mercedes and _oh crap_ he was supposed to have a shopping date with her 3 hours ago. Immediately he hits the redial button, and hopes she'll answer.

He doesn't have to wait long; she picks up before the second ring. "You have some explaining to do, boy."

"'Cedes, I am _so_ sorry."

"You better be," she scolds, "but that is _not_ an explanation."

"I, um... I'm with Blaine?" he tries, as he stands and paces away from where Blaine is sitting on the couch.

There's silence for a moment before she speaks again. "You said you were free today."

"I was, I uh... stayed the night. It wasn't planned."

" _Kurt_ ," she says, and Kurt recognizes that tone.

"It wasn't like _that_ ," he whispers, hoping he's far enough away now that Blaine won't hear him. "It was just... I was here and it got late, and he didn't want me driving home that late, so I stayed."

"Mhmm," she response, clearly not convinced.

"Really, it's not like that. We're just friends," Kurt insists, keeping his voice low.

"Whatever you say, Kurt. I'll let you get back to your totally-not-your-boyfriend, but you owe me _big time_."

"I know. Thanks, 'Cedes," he says; it's not worth it to argue with her anymore, and he really doesn't want Blaine to hear this conversation.

"Love you babe! Have fun, stay safe," she says cheerily, then hangs up.


	4. Chapter 4

Kurt managed to make it through the rest of the weekend without his father figuring anything out. Burt hadn't questioned him when he arrived home Saturday evening just before supper time, except to say that he really needed to let them know earlier if he wouldn't be home for supper. And Kurt had managed to calm down enough with Blaine's help that he didn't rouse any suspicion for the remainder of the weekend. He loves his dad, and he'd trust his dad with anything, but there were some things that Burt Hummel just didn't need to know, and this was one of them. So for the rest of the weekend he tried to put it out of his mind, and that worked for the most part, but now it's Monday and he has to face school again.

So far his morning has been surprisingly quiet. No sign of Karofsky, and he's trying to keep himself from hoping that maybe, just maybe, Karofsky will leave him alone after what had happened on Friday. Of course, Kurt wouldn't be that lucky, and really, he'd known that all along. He's walking into the cafeteria at lunch, just about to head to his regular table, when Karofsky appears in front of him, as though from nowhere, and Kurt freezes mid-step. He looks up at the boy in the red letterman jacket in front of him, and takes a deep breath, knowing that he can't avoid this forever and hoping that whatever Karofsky is going to do to him will be over quickly. They're in the middle of a busy cafeteria; it can't be that bad, right?

"Whatever happened in that locker room Friday, whatever you were trying to do with me, it never happened. Nobody finds out."

Kurt just gawks at him, because what? Kurt didn't _do_ anything, it was all Karofsky. "I didn't-" Kurt starts to argue, but he's cut off by Karofsky's strong hands grabbing him and dragging him to the side, pushing him into the wall by his shoulders and holding him there and he feels paralyzed all over again.

"Nobody finds out. You got it?" Karofsky repeats, his voice low.

Kurt swallows, and all he can think about is these hands holding him against the lockers on Friday and he's frozen in place. He stares wide-eyed back at Karofsky.

"You got it?" Karofsky repeats, voice slightly raised, and Kurt hears the hint of panic in the words but doesn't really pay it any mind because he's just trying to fight back his own panic. Somehow, he finds the strength to nod his head, and that seems to be enough.

Karofsky exhales slightly, letting his hands fall back to his sides. "If you say a word to _anyone_ , I _will_ kill you."

Kurt nods silently again, wide eyes staring back, and then Karofsky is stalking away. Kurt lets out a ragged breath, inhales deeply, and tries to compose himself. He's terrified, and Karofsky hasn't even done anything to him, but that's almost worse because now there's just all of the possibilities of what he _could_ do. Kurt was never going to tell in the first place he's ashamed that he let it happen, that he put himself in a situation for that to happen to him, and he doesn't want to even _start_ to imagine what people would say if they knew. But Karofsky doesn't seem to know that. Kurt thinks back to the panic he heard in Karofsky's voice as he manages to level his breathing; of course Karofsky doesn't know that. This time is different. This time, Kurt actually has something that could hurt Karofsky back if he told. Kurt straightens his clothes out, takes another deep breath, and walks over to join Rachel and Mercedes at their usual table.

"What was that about?" Rachel asks, before Kurt even hits his chair.

"It was nothing," Kurt replies shortly, not sure he trusts his voice yet with much more.

"That didn't look like nothing," Mercedes adds, concern in her voice that Rachel didn't have. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine 'Cedes, don't worry about it," Kurt brushes her off, bringing out his lunch and arranging it on the table in front of him. The girls look at him worriedly as he arranges his lunch neatly on the table in front of him. Before they can say anything else, Tina takes a seat beside Kurt.

"So, girls' night this Friday? My parents said you can all come over!" she says excitedly, clearly not sensing the tension at the table, and Kurt is glad because he really doesn't want to deal with the girls' prying right now. He's thankful when Rachel and Mercedes go along with the topic change.

"That sounds great Tina," Mercedes responds, "I think we are all in need of one of those."

"Absolutely! I can't wait, we can do each others' hair, it will be so much fun," Rachel chimes in.

"You in, Kurt?" Tina asks, turning to smile at him.

Kurt looks up and meets her eyes. "Yeah Tina, that sounds great," he replies, shooting her what he hopes looks like a warm smile, and it must have worked because she grins back and then the girls continue chattering on about all the things they want to do Friday night.

Kurt pulls out his phone under the table and shoots a message off to Blaine.

_Is it Saturday yet?_

Blaine's reply is almost instantaneous.

_ Not yet unfortunately. Rough day? _

_You could say that._

_ Are you okay? _

_I'm fine._

_ Are you sure? _

Kurt pauses for a moment before responding. He can't tell the girls, he knows that, but this is _Blaine_. Blaine is the one person he could maybe talk to. He can't tell Blaine everything, but maybe he can let him in a little.

_Karofsky has been worse than usual lately._

_ Is that what you were upset about on Friday? _

Kurt takes a moment before responding. Of course Blaine would figure it out right away. He doesn't want to tell Blaine too much, but this still feels safe enough.

_Yeah._

_ Do you want to talk about it? I can meet you after school. _

_No, I'm fine._

_ I wish you were here instead of there. _

Kurt's heart flutters at the text. He knows that Blaine doesn't mean it that way, but he can't help but imagine what it might be like to have this beautiful boy wanting him back. He takes a deep breath.

_Me too._

_ I'm here if you need to talk, if you need anything. _

_I know. Thanks, Blaine._

_ COURAGE _

Kurt smiles to himself, and he's about to tap out a reply when his attention is drawn back to his friends sitting at the table around him.

"Kurt, are you texting your boyfriend?" Tina teases.

Kurt slides his phone back into his pocket. "Blaine is not my boyfriend, we're just friends," he insists with an eye roll, and he's impressed with how casual he's able to make it sound despite the blush he feels colouring his cheeks, and how much he wishes it weren't the case.

"If you say so," Mercedes counters with a laugh.

* * *

Kurt leans back against the wall, sitting on the floor of Tina's room wrapped in a blanket with Mercedes.

"So, Kurt," Rachel starts from where she's sitting on the bed with Tina, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth from the bowl in front of them, "what's _really_ going on with you and Blaine?"

"Rachel, _nothing_ is going on with me and Blaine. We are _just friends_. Just because he's gay doesn't mean something has to be going on."

"Oh please," Mercedes scoffs, "we see the look on your face every time he texts you. We're not stupid, Kurt."

Kurt rolls his eyes, but he can't suppress the blush in his cheeks. "It's really not like that. It's just nice to have somebody to talk to."

"Well you know you can always talk to us," Rachel points out, and she almost sounds offended.

"I know Rachel, and I appreciate that, but it's different with Blaine," Kurt says.

And really, it is different. Feelings aside, Kurt hadn't realized how much of a difference it makes being able to just talk to someone else who is openly gay, because Blaine just _gets it_ , and that's something that Kurt just really needs in his life right now. He loves his girlfriends, but there are some things that they've just never really understood, even though they've tried.

"Yeah it's different, because you're in love with him," Tina adds with a smirk.

Kurt rolls his eyes again and shoots Tina a glare, "I am not _in love_ with Blaine."

And it's true. He's not. He has feelings for Blaine, sure, but he's not _in love_. Even he can admit that there's still a lot he doesn't even know about Blaine.

"I bet you'll be boyfriends before the end of the year," Rachel says, smiling smugly at him.

"And even if we _were_ in love with each," Kurt continues, choosing to ignore Rachel, "which we are _not_ , by the way, I'm not sure it would be such a great idea, anyway."

"Why not? You would be so cute together!" Tina insists.

"He's had some stuff happen to him, and I- well, I wouldn't want to drag him into any of the stuff I have to deal with, so."

Blaine has opened up to Kurt a bit about what he went through before transferring to Dalton. He knows that Blaine hasn't had it easy, and he wouldn't blame Blaine for being hesitant about a relationship even if his feelings were reciprocated. And he wouldn't want to put Blaine through anything like that again with Karofsky, especially now that he knows how far Karofsky is willing to go.

"Kurt, you can't let Karofsky and those other guys control you. If that's what's stopping you from being with Blaine, you need to let it go. Who cares what they think?" Rachel reasons, and she sounds so sure of herself.

Kurt wishes it really was that easy, and he supposes that for her, it probably is. But he knows all too well what can happen when he tries to stand up to Karofsky, and he doesn't want to rock the boat any more than he already has. He doesn't want to think about how much _worse_ things could have been if he didn't get out of that locker room when he did, and he's not interested in doing anything that might provoke a repeat.

"I just want to get through high school, Rachel," he replies simply, because there's just so _much_ and there's no way he can explain it all to them.

"We've noticed he's gotten worse lately, Kurt. We're kind of worried about you," Mercedes looks at him seriously now, and he had been hoping to avoid this topic but, really, he knew he wouldn't be so lucky.

"He's just- it's fine, 'Cedes," he says, not really sure what else he can say, because it's far from fine but he can't tell them that.

"Are you sure? We can talk to the guys, maybe get them to say something to him to lay off a bit," Tina suggests.

Kurt's eyes widen. "I don't need anybody else to fight my battles for me, Tina. I can handle it."

It comes out more aggressively than he intends, but he hopes that will just help mask the panic in his voice. That could absolutely not happen. Karofsky would assume he'd told, and if Karofsky thought he'd told, well... Kurt swallows.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asks him, and his eyes snap over to look at her, head tilted and expression a mixture of confusion and concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's fine. I have everything under control," he insists, and really he's trying to convince himself as much as everyone else in the room.


	5. Chapter 5

The next week, Kurt is being checked into a bank of lockers, and he's almost thankful. Since the death threat, Karofsky hasn't been doing anything worse than usual. It's still bad, but Kurt thinks he can handle this for the rest of high school as long as it doesn't get any worse. He doesn't even look back as he crouches to pick his books off the floor.

"Hey man, leave him alone," it's Finn's voice, and Kurt freezes.

He hears Karofsky laugh, actually _laugh_. "Excuse me?"

"You heard him. Leave the guy alone." Puck's voice now, and Kurt is standing and spinning around, eyes wide and staring in shock as the scene unfolds several paces down the hall.

"I'll do whatever I want," Karofsky spits back at them.

"He's my brother, and I said to leave him alone," Finn repeats, and Kurt's not sure if he's ever seen Finn look so _serious_.

"Whatever, Hudson," Karofsky scoffs, turning to walk back down the hallway toward Kurt.

"I warned you, Hummel," he threatens as he shoves Kurt into the lockers again, and then he disappears around the corner.

"Dude, what was that? What's he talking about?" Finn asks as he and puck approach him, and Kurt realizes they must have heard Karofsky's words.

Instead of answer, Kurt asks his own question. "Why would you do that?"

"Dude we're trying to help you! Nobody messes with one of my boys," Puck cuts in.

"Well, don't," Kurt is angry, and he didn't expect that, but he figures it's better than the alternative, so he leans into it.

"Man, what's your problem?" Finn huffs, clearly agitated that Kurt isn't thankful for their help, which is funny because he clearly doesn't realize just how much they _haven't_ helped, or that Kurt didn't _ask_ for their help in the first place.

Now Kurt laughs, and he looks between the two of boys in front of him. "I don't need you to fight my battles for me. I've gotten along just fine so far on my own, no thanks to either of you."

He knows it's a low blow, but it's also true because Finn and Puck been just as bad as Karofsky used to be before they joined Glee club. He sees Finn's face fall, but before either of them has a chance to respond, Kurt is storming away down the hallway, trying to fight back the tears, because as the anger starts to fade he's just left with the fear of what Karofsky will do if he really thinks he's told.

* * *

Kurt is home a bit later than usual after school that day. Mercedes had called in her shopping date favour because she needed a dress for a family wedding that weekend. They go to Breadstix for supper afterward, and so by the time Kurt gets home he expects to find his dad sitting in the chair with Finn settled on the couch, watching whatever sporting event that happens to be going on that night, and Carole tucked in her corner chair reading a book. As he approaches the living room, though, he doesn't hear the television. He enters, and sure enough, his whole family is there, but Carole is on the couch with Finn, the television is off, and they're all looking at him. He feels his heart rate speed up; something's not right.

"What's going on?" he asks slowly, stopping in the doorway and shifting his satchel uneasily on his shoulder, trying to squash the panic he feels building in his chest.

"I don't know, Kurt, I was hoping maybe you could tell us," his dad replies, giving him a pointed look.

Kurt's heart rate spikes higher at that. He glances at Finn, who looks away guiltily.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kurt says, too quickly, and he continues toward the stairs to head to his room.

"No so fast, kiddo," Burt says, "why don't you come sit down for a minute."

It's not really a question. Kurt takes a deep breath to steady himself, and takes a seat in the chair opposite Finn and Carole. He keeps his eyes trained on the floor.

"Finn told us that you've been having a hard time at school lately," his dad explains.

Kurt meets his dad's eyes. "That's not new, dad. It's nothing I can't handle."

"He told us that David Karofsky threatened you," Carole explains softly.

"Yeah, so?" Kurt asks defiantly, looking back to the floor.

"Kurt, we want to help you, but we can't do that if you don't tell us what's going on," his father pleads.

"I know he's worse than he's ever been, Kurt," Finn chimes in, and when Kurt's head snaps up to shoot a glare at Finn, Finn has the decency to look guilty again.

"It's nothing," Kurt says, dropping his eyes to the floor again.

"Kurt, I know you, and I know it's not nothing. Look at me," Burt says, and Kurt reluctantly brings his eyes up to look at his father.

"Why is this David kid threatening you?"

"Why do you think, dad? Look at me."

" _Kurt_. He's not threatening you just 'cause you're gay. Why is he worse now?"

Kurt sighs. Kurt knows he can't tell the truth, but he also knows that his dad won't take no for an answer.

"He- uh, he just didn't want me to tell anyone about the bullying," he tries, hoping that's enough. He figures it's not _exactly_ a lie.

Now Burt sighs. "You need to tell me if things are getting this bad. I can help you," his father explains.

"I have it under control, though, it's fine," Kurt says, and it really isn't, but he hopes he at least sounds convincing.

"We're going to talk to the school," Burt states simply, and _what_? Kurt's eyes widen. This was _not_ what he was expecting. He's not sure what he _was_ expecting, but not this.

"No," because he doesn't know what else to say.

"This is not negotiable," his father's voice is firm.

"No, you can't. I'm handling it," Kurt pleads.

"You're not handling it, Kurt. You think I don't notice that you've been quieter, you're not going out with your friends as much, you're just hiding out in your room? And don't think I haven't noticed how much time you've spent reorganizing your closet," his father says pointedly, but with a warmth in his voice.

"We're just trying to help," Carole leans forward and puts a hand on his knee, squeezing gently.

"But-"

"No buts, Kurt. We're going tomorrow," his father says with finality, and Kurt knows there's no use arguing.

"Okay," he breathes.

"It _will_ be okay," Carole says, squeezing his knee again, and he really hopes she's right but he's having a hard time believing it.

* * *

Kurt shifts uneasily in the hard plastic chair in Principal Figgins' office. His father is beside him, and Karofsky and his father across from them. Karofsky glares at Kurt when he thinks nobody is looking.

"So, David, Kurt here has told me that you've been threatening him," Principal Figgins starts, looking at Karofsky.

"I didn't do-" Karofsky starts, but he stops when Principal Figgins raises a hand to silence him.

"Kurt, what exactly did David here say to you?"

"He, uh-," Kurt swallows, "he told me he'd kill me if I told anyone," he finishes quietly, eyes fixed on the floor.

Kurt sees his father's head snap to the side to look at him, and Kurt cringes as he realizes what he just said out loud.

"Tell anyone what?" Burt asks, eyes narrowed.

Kurt looks over to see David glaring daggers at him. "Just, um... just about the bullying," Kurt says weakly, and it seems to be enough because his father is looking at Figgins now.

"This is unacceptable. My son needs to feel _safe_ when he comes to this school, and quite frankly you're doing an awful job," Burt huffs.

"David, what do you have to say about this?" Figgins asks.

"I didn't threaten him!" Karofsky insists.

"David, why would Kurt make something like this up?" Mr. Karofsky asks his son.

"I don't know, maybe he likes me or something," Karofsky scoffs, and Kurt almost rolls his eyes because that is the most ludicrous thing he has ever heard.

"This is ridiculous," Burt exclaims, rising from his chair, "my son would not lie about this, and _your_ son is-"

"Please, Mr. Hummel," Figgins cuts him off, and Burt slowly retakes his seat. "Kurt, did anyone else hear David say this to you?"

Kurt stares at the floor as though the patterned tiles are suddenly the most interesting thing he's ever seen. "No."

Principal Figgins sighs. "Mr. Hummel, I am very sorry, but I cannot do anything if there is no proof that anything happened." He sounds genuinely apologetic, Kurt thinks, but he knows that isn't enough for his dad.

"This is ridiculous," Burt says, raising his voice, "I think it's pretty clear that something is happening here, and it's your responsibility as the school administration to do something about it!"

"I wish there was something I could do Mr. Hummel, but until there is concrete proof that David has threatened your son, my hands are tied. I'm sorry."

"Unbelievable," Burt mutters angrily, standing. "This school is a joke. And I _will_ be contacting the school board about this. Come on Kurt, let's go."

* * *

His father let's him stay home from school for the day, and Kurt goes to his room as soon as they gets home. His father doesn't try to stop him, and he's glad for that. There's really only one person he wants to talk to right now, and that person is Blaine. Of course, Blaine is in class, so he can't call him right away. He spends the day in his room, working on homework and reorganizing his closet yet again, until it's finally late enough that he can call Blaine. He flops onto his bed, pulls out his phone and hits the call button next to Blaine's contact.

"Hey Kurt, how did it go today?" Blaine asks right away.

"Not great," Kurt admits.

There's a brief pause, and when Blaine speaks again, Kurt can hear the frown in his voice. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Kurt sighs. "They said there was nothing they could do if they don't have proof that he threatened me, and if he hasn't actually _done_ anything."

Blaine is silent for another moment before he speaks again. "I'm sorry, Kurt."

And this is one of the reasons that Kurt likes Blaine so much. Blaine just _gets_ it. All of his other friends would try to convince him that it will get better, that having Karofsky around won't be that bad, that they'll be there for him and stick up for him. But Blaine gets it, Blaine understands that it's just going to get _worse_ now, and Kurt couldn't be more thankful.

"I wish you could just come to Dalton," Blaine continues, "you wouldn't have to worry about anything like that here."

"Me too," Kurt replies wistfully, "but my dad and Carole really can't afford Dalton. I can't ask them for that."

"I know. I just... I wish things were different."

"Yeah," he agrees. "Thanks, Blaine," he adds after a moment.

Blaine is quiet, voice confused when he speaks, "For what?"

"For understanding."


	6. Chapter 6

Kurt is sitting at his vanity in his room reorganizing his skincare products when he hears the knock on his door.

"Come in," he calls out.

His father opens the door and walks in, followed by Carole, and they take a seat together on his bed.

"Hey buddy, how are you holding up?" Burt asks.

"I'm fine," Kurt responds warily, "... what's going on?"

"I heard you talking on the phone earlier. To Blaine," Burt admits. Kurt stares back at his father in confusion; what could he have talked to Blaine about that would warrant a sit-down conversation like this?

"Okay...," he replies slowly, carefully. "I'm not sure I follow."

"You were talking about Dalton," his father supplies, and he's even more confused now because why would talking to Blaine about his school be any sort of problem?

"Your father and I discussed it, and... we thought you should transfer there," Carole adds.

Kurt stares back at them, eyes wide and mouth agape for a moment, before he speaks again. "I- We can't afford that. Dalton is really expensive," he argues.

"We have some money saved up for our honeymoon that we can use," his father replies.

"You can't use your honeymoon money to pay for Dalton!" Kurt exclaims, because that would be ridiculous, right?

"Kurt, I need to know you're safe. And you are _not_ safe with that Karofsky kid still at school. I don't need a honeymoon, but I _do_ need a son," Burt insists.

"Oh-okay," Kurt swallows, nods.

"I love you, Kurt. So much," his father stands, closing the distance between himself and Kurt. Kurt stands and his father envelopes him in a tight hug.

"I love you too."

They stand there, hugging, for what feels like hours but is probably only a minute at most. When they pull out of each others' arms, there's a hint of tears in each of their eyes, and Carole is nowhere to be found.

"You're registered to start on Monday. We'll go to McKinley tomorrow to clear out your locker, but you don't have to go the rest of the week," his father says, turning to leave.

Kurt nods, but speaks only as his father reaches the doorway. "Dad?"

"Yeah, Kurt?"

"Thank you."

* * *

Kurt's first instinct is to call and tell Blaine the news, but he stops himself. He has plans to see Blaine on the weekend, and he kind of wants to see the reaction on Blaine's face when he tells him. So instead, he texts Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina to let them know the news.

_Guess who's transferring to Dalton!_

Mercedes is the first to respond.

**No way!**

Tina's response follows closely behind.

**_What? When?_ **

_Monday._

He feels a pang of guilt. He's excited, but he'll miss the girls and Glee club.

_Oh my god!_

He's barely read Rachel's message before she sends another.

_We NEED to have a going away party!_

Kurt smiles to himself. Of course that's Rachel's reaction.

_I can host it in my basement. We'll invite the whole Glee club, and you can invite Blaine and some of the Warbler's you've already met. It will be so fun!_

**What did Blaine say when you told him?**

_I haven't told him yet. Going to tell him when I see him Saturday._

**Let us know what he says!**

_Invite him to the party! Tell him to bring his friends! Next Friday!_

Kurt rolls his eyes fondly before he replies. He'll have to be sure to keep in touch with the girls.

_I will Rachel._

* * *

Kurt sits at his and Blaine's regular table, waiting anxiously for Blaine. He had been excited to tell Blaine, but now that reality was setting in, he's feeling a little nervous. What if Blaine doesn't really want him to transfer? People say things they don't mean all the time. What if Blaine is mad that he's transferring? What if Blaine doesn't want him there? He fidgets anxiously with the cuffs on his sleeves, glancing over to the door every time he hears the bell ding as it opens.

Finally, Blaine walks through the door. A moment later he sees Kurt, a smile spreading across his face, raising his hand to wave. Kurt waves back, and Blaine proceeds to the counter to order their coffee. Blaine had insisted on buying the coffee today despite Kurt's protests, otherwise Kurt would have already had both of their coffees at the table. A few minutes later, Blaine is placing a coffee in front of Kurt and taking a seat in the chair across from him.

"Hey you," Blaine smiles at him. "Were you waiting long?"

"No, only a few minutes," Kurt replies, picking up his coffee and taking a sip, hoping it will help calm his nerves. "How was your week?"

"Oh god, I have to tell you about the most _ridiculous_ thing Wes did," Blaine starts. "So you remember when he lost his gavel a few weeks ago and called an emergency meeting about it, but then he found it in his room?"

Kurt nods.

"Well I guess he decided that if it happens again, he wants to make sure that whoever find it knows that it's his. So he shows up to rehearsal yesterday, and he had 'Property of Wesley Montgomery' engraved on it! It's not even his gavel! It belongs to the Warbler council! Someone else gets it next year!" Blain exclaims with a laugh.

"That sounds exactly like something Wes would do," Kurt chuckles.

"Why am I friends with him?" Blaine asks in mock exasperation.

"He's a good guy, behind all the... Well, behind all the other stuff," Kurt smirks.

"Yeah, he is," Blaine smiles. "So, how has the rest of the week been? You haven't really said anything. Has Karofsky been bad? "

"Actually, about that... There's something I wanted to tell you."

"Did something happen?" Blaine asks, his face falling.

"No no, nothing happened," Kurt reassures quickly. "I actually didn't go to school for the rest of the week."

"Oh," Blaine says, concern replaced with confusion. "Why not?"

"I, uh... I'm transferring."

"Really? To where?"

"To Dalton."

Blaine pauses for a moment, and then he's smiling. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," he replies, smiling back, relieved that Blaine seemed to be happy about the idea. "My dad and Carole told me a few nights ago. They're using the money they saved for their honeymoon to pay for tuition," he admits.

"That's great Kurt!" Blaine beams at him, and Kurt is struck by how beautiful Blaine looks when he's this happy. "When do you start?"

"Monday," Kurt smiles, and really he's just relieved that Blaine isn't upset.

"You're going to love it there, Kurt. You'll have to audition for the Warblers! Not that there's any question you'll get in, of course, but it is protocol," Blaine smiles.

"I'll try not to steal all your solos," Kurt teases with a grin.

"I can't wait to tell the guys!"

"Speaking of, Rachel is having a going away party on Friday. You're invited, and she said to bring Wes and David," Kurt says.

"A going away party? It's not like you're moving though, are you? Wait, are you going to be living in the dorms?"

"No no, I'm not moving. Rachel just... I think she wanted an excuse to throw a party," he explains, rolling his eyes fondly.

"Right. Well, we'll be there! I don't think I've ever seen Wes turn down a party," Blaine smiles at him.

"Great! I'll let her know," Kurt smiles back.


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt's first day at Dalton is nothing like any other first day of school he has ever experienced. Everyone has been perfectly pleasant to him, welcoming him to the school, offering to show him where his next class was. He had met up with Blaine, Wes, and David for lunch, and by the end of his last class, he was starting to settle in and felt like he could maybe, just maybe, get used to this. And now he's on his way to audition for the Warblers.

He walks into the Warbler's room to find everyone already there, talking amongst themselves in small groups. He stands in the doorway awkwardly for a moment, not quite sure what to do, when Blaine looks up from his conversation with Wes and David and sees him.

"Kurt! There you are!" Blaine smiles broadly as he approaches Kurt. He leads Kurt back to where he'd been standing before with the other two boys.

"Hey Kurt, how was the rest of your day?" David asks, smiling warmly.

"It went well, thank you," Kurt says, offering an easy smile back.

"Ready for your audition? We've heard a lot about you from Blaine, so we have some pretty high expectations," Wes adds with a smirk, and Kurt could swear he sees a hint of a blush in Blaine's cheeks.

"I can't wait to exceed them," Kurt smirks back.

"That's the spirit! We can't wait to see what you've got," Wes smiles, clapping a hand down on Kurt's shoulder.

Wes and David move to the table at the front of the room and sit, facing the rest of the room.

"Attention everyone!" Wes calls, banging his gavel on the table, and Kurt glances over at Blaine to see him rolling his eyes with a fond smile. "Today, we have a new candidate, Kurt Hummel, who will be auditioning for a spot in the Warblers."

The room goes quiet as the other Warblers take their seats throughout.

"Go ahead, Kurt," David prompts.

Kurt looks around the room for a moment before speaking. "Hello, Warblers. My name is Kurt Hummel, and I will be singing 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' by Madonna."

He looks to Wes and David at the front of the room, and Wes nods for him to proceed. He'd practiced with Rachel ahead of this audition, and he knows he'll do a great job. He feels his nerves calm as the first words of the song pass his lips.

When Kurt finishes, standing in the center of the room, he glances hesitantly between where Blaine is sitting on one of the couches, and where Wes and David sit at the table at the front of the room. After what feels like minutes but is really only a matter of seconds, David speaks up.

"Thank you for that, Kurt. If you wouldn't mind stepping out for a moment, we will take a vote to make the decision."

Kurt gives a small nod and turns to leave. He steps out into the hallway, closing the door softly behind himself. He can hear them beginning to speak, but the heavy wood door muffles most of the sound and he can't make out any of the words. He sinks down onto a nearby bench, leans back against the wall, and stares up at the ceiling as he waits. Everything about Dalton Academy is so different from what he's grown used to at McKinley, and this, interestingly, is no exception. Of course he knew that the Warblers weren't social outcasts and misfits like his old Glee club, but it had never really occurred to him that there was a chance of him _not_ getting in.

He closes his eyes and tries to push the thoughts out of his head. He _knows_ he's good. Blaine knows he's good, and Blaine knows the Warblers; Blaine wouldn't have let him audition if there was a chance he wouldn't get in, right? Unless Blaine was just too nice to tell him that he wouldn't be good enough. He doesn't think he can handle going back in there to have them tell him he isn't good enough, and he briefly considers getting up and walking away down the hall before someone can come out to get him; but then his eyes are flying open and he's flinching back as he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Blaine smiles down at him hesitantly, pulling his hand back, and Kurt relaxes a little when he sees that it's Blaine and remembers where he is. "You can come back in now."

Kurt stands, and Blaine steps ahead, reaching to hold the door open. So much for leaving before someone came out to get him.

"Thanks," he says, offering a small smile as he steps through the doorway.

"You were great in there, by the way," Blaine replies with a grin as he follows Kurt into the room and closes the door behind them. Blaine motions for Kurt to step forward, and he does, standing again in the middle of the room, facing David and Wes.

"Now, as I'm sure Blaine has told you," Wes starts, shooting a look at Blaine, "it's not typical for us to allow auditions in the middle of the year. However, since you are here under special circumstances, we've made an exception to this rule." Wes has a very serious expression on his face, and Kurt feels a brief flair of anxiety as he processes the words and prepares himself for their decision.

"And," David adds, smiling, "we're all very glad that we did. It's unanimous, Kurt; welcome to the Warblers!"

David and Wes are both smiling at him now, and so is Blaine, and so is everyone else as they applaud. A smile spreads across Kurt's face as he takes it all in, and realizes that yes, this is where he needs to be; this school, where nobody hates him for who he is, where he can actually be _appreciated_ for the things he enjoys and is good at.

The meeting goes on a bit longer as the council and members have a brief discussion about song ideas for their next competition, and Kurt settles in on a couch next to Blaine to listen. And he tries to listen, he really does. But he just can't seem to focus. His head is swimming as he tries to process the day's events. He really goes to school here, at Dalton. Not a single person has pushed him, or said anything about him being gay, or being weird, or not belonging. He's sitting next to a perfect boy, in a room filled with other boys who love to sing just as much as he does, and who are celebrated by the other students rather than ridiculed. It's all very surreal, and Kurt is sure that it is going to take him a long time to really get used to it all.

"And again, Kurt, congratulations! We're all very excited to have you here."

Kurt is brought back to reality as he hears Wes' voice, and he smiles back at him. The Warblers all stand and begin to file out of the room, several of them coming over to personally welcome Kurt and tell him they look forward to singing with him. He smiles and thanks each of them, taking it in stride. As Trent leaves the room, Kurt looks around to realize that only he and Blaine are left, sitting together on the couch. Blaine has a goofy smile on his face, and Kurt's heart flutters as he sees the smile reaching Blaine's warm brown eyes.

"What?" Kurt narrows his eyes at Blaine, but a smile plays at the corners of his mouth.

"Nothing," Blaine replies, still smiling, "I'm just glad you're here."

* * *

Kurt takes a seat with Wes and David in the cafeteria at lunch. It's the end of his first week, and he's starting to establish a routine. Kurt likes having a routine; it makes him more comfortable. The three boys sit and chat as they wait for Blaine to join them.

"So, Kurt, I have to ask, how long are we going to have to wait before you and Blaine go public?" Wes asks casually.

"Excuse me?" Kurt splutters, coughing a bit on the water he's sipping.

"My bet is two weeks, but David here thinks it will be at least a month. Blaine can be pretty stubborn, you know," Wes continues, as though that explains everything, when it explains absolutely nothing at all.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kurt says quickly, but he feels the blush quickly warming his cheeks because he's pretty sure he knows _exactly_ what Wes is talking about.

"Oh come on Kurt, there's obviously something going on between you two," Wes insists with a wink.

"There is _nothing_ going on between Blaine and I," Kurt insists, "we are _just_ friends."

"Leave him alone, Wes." David cuts in, and turns to look at Kurt. "Just ignore Wes. That's what the rest of us do."

Kurt is reeling, trying to think of how to reply, but then he doesn't have to because Blaine is there and if Kurt's face wasn't red before, it's definitely red now.

"He's right, you know. We do all just ignore Wes, at least most of the time," Blaine smiles at Kurt. "Why are we ignoring him now?" he asks, his eyes shifting between David and Kurt.

"I don't know why you all ignore me, I have some great ideas if you'd just listen," Wes interjects before either of the other boys can reply.

David rolls his eyes, "Doing our whole sectionals routine on scooters is _not_ a great idea. It's not even a _good_ or _mediocre_ idea, Wes, it's just a _bad idea_."

"I'm still not sure how he got elected," Blaine chimes in, and Kurt lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding as the conversation continues about all of the ridiculous ideas Wes has had so far this year for the Warblers' performances. He might have thanked Wes for changing the subject, except Wes was the reason the subject needed to be changed in the first place.

"That might not actually be half bad," Kurt chimes in as David and Blaine laugh about what they claim was a particularly ridiculous idea involving wings and some elaborate stage rigging. Blaine and David pause mid-laugh, both turning to look at Kurt in unison.

"See, Kurt gets it! Finally, someone around here to recognize my genius. You and I will be great friends, I see it now," Wes says with a devilish grin.

Kurt rolls his eyes. "I think _genius_ might be a bit of a stretch. I'm with Blaine and David on most of your ideas."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is largely inspired by scenes from the show, including the use of some dialogue, though I've changed things up a bit. Thank you to everyone who has been reading so far, and to any new readers! I hope you've enjoyed my story so far, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

Kurt arrives at the Berry household to find Mercedes, Tina, Mike, Brittany, and Artie already there. He looks around the basement and takes in what Rachel claims is his going away party, but really he just thinks it was her excuse to throw a party and have people actually show up. He smiles at that, and the realization is bittersweet; he loves his McKinley friends, but how much they care just makes leaving them so much harder. He tries to push the sadder thoughts to the back of his mind; this is his party, and he's going to enjoy it.

When Blaine arrives with Wes and David, Kurt smiles a little wider as he walks over to greet them.

"Hey, I'm glad you could all make it!"

"Of course! We wouldn't miss it," Blaine smiles easily back at him.

"The party has arrived!" Wes calls out to the room.

Blaine and David roll their eyes, and Kurt laughs as he notices absolutely nobody in the room reacting in any way. Wes pouts a little, but Kurt can still see the smirk beneath it.

"Well, make yourselves comfortable. There's drinks over there, I think," Kurt points toward a makeshift bar area that Rachel has set up.

Blaine and Wes head off in the direction Kurt is pointing, while David hangs back. "You're not having anything?" Kurt asks him.

"Nah, I'm the DD," David replies. "Thanks for inviting us, that was nice of you."

"I figured I might as well start getting to know some of the people I'll be spending the rest of the year with," Kurt smiles at him.

"We're looking forward to it," David smiles back. "I'd better go make sure they aren't getting into too much trouble," he adds, gesturing toward Wes and Blaine at the other end of the room where they're talking to Mike and Tina, and then he's heading across the room as well.

By the time Santana is suggesting a game of Spin the Bottle, most of the party guests are thoroughly intoxicated, Kurt notes. Before he can protest, he finds himself being pulled into the loose circle forming on the floor around an empty bottle of wine by an entirely too drunk Mercedes Jones, whispering in his ear about how this could be his chance to kiss Blaine, and he hadn't thought of that... but she kind of has a point, doesn't she?

Wait, no, this is ridiculous. He can't use Spin the Bottle as an excuse to kiss Blaine; that's ridiculous. But there really isn't time to put any more thought into it, because he's sitting on the floor between Mercedes and Rachel, and Blaine is across from him with David and Wes, and he's blushing because all he can think about is how those lips might feel against his own. Blaine must catch him staring, because he shoots Kurt a big smile. Kurt blushes a bit, but smiles back.

The game starts with Santana spinning the bottle and landing on Sam. She quickly argues that her turn shouldn't count because she can already kiss him whenever she wants, and even though most of the circle protests, she spins again, this time landing on David. She still seems a little disappointed, but doesn't argue. The game continues until Brittany's turn, who spins the bottle and lands on Blaine. Kurt laughs along with the rest, and he figures that if Blaine is going to kiss anybody here (aside from himself, of course), it's probably best that it's Brittany. For one, she's a girl, so he has nothing to worry about there; and for another thing, he himself has kissed Brittany, and he knows Brittany has kissed just about everyone, so it won't be a big deal for her, either. He watches as they meet in the middle, lips moving together, and as the kiss continues, a few people are whooping and this kiss is _definitely_ going on for longer than necessary, isn't it? They break away and look at each other, and Kurt notices that goofy smile on Blaine's face that he loves so much. His stomach churns a little, but he reminds himself that Blaine is drunk right now, and he's a performer, and, well, that was certainly a show.

Kurt spins the bottle on his turn, and his heart thumps hard in his chest as it slows, approaching Blaine, but then it stops just shy, directed instead toward Wes. He's not quite sure what to do; he doesn't know Wes that well yet. He knows Wes is cool with him and Blaine being gay, but would Wes be okay with _this_? He hesitates, but before he has time to decide how to process, Wes' hands are pulling him forward into the center of the circle. Kurt flinches at the touch, and Wes pauses to look at him questioningly.

"You good?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Kurt responds, offering a tentative smile.

He's not sure why he's shy all of the sudden, but he supposes it could have something to do with standing in the middle of a circle of all his friends, about to kiss a straight boy.

"Let's do this, then!" Wes smirks, and then he's pulling Kurt into a kiss, and Kurt can taste the beer on his breath but it's not necessarily unpleasant, and considering all of his previous kisses were with Brittany or Karofsky, this is the best he's had so far, so he can hardly complain. He kisses back, and when Wes parts his lips and runs his tongue along Kurt's bottom lip, Kurt allows his own lips to part and they deepen the kiss.

After another moment, Wes pulls away slowly. He grins at Kurt, winks, and playfully shoves him back toward his spot. "And that, my friends, is what a real kiss looks like!" Wes yells, and the others cheer. Kurt chances a glance at Blaine, but he seems to be cheering away with the rest, unfazed by the kiss Kurt just shared with his best friend, and Kurt isn't really sure if he's relieved or upset at that.

* * *

Kurt sits across from Blaine on Sunday at their regular table at the Lima Bean, sipping their coffee.

"I'm glad you guys could make it on Sunday," Kurt says, smiling at Blaine.

"Of course! We wouldn't have missed it," Blaine grins back, and it's one of those grins that's just so contagious that Kurt can't help but smile a little wider.

"I think everyone had a ton of fun. It was really great to see everyone together."

"It was really great to meet all your friends, they all seem great," Blaine responds. He seems to hesitate for a moment, and then, "I wanted to ask you, by the way, um... do you have Brittany's number?"

That catches Kurt a little off guard. Why would Blaine want Brittany's number? They barely even interacted at the party except for that one kiss, and surely Blaine couldn't be asking for a girl's number because he kissed her, right? Blaine is gay, he's not interested in girls. He tries not to think too hard about it.

"Oh, yeah, of course. I have everyone's number."

"Could I maybe have it?

"Sure," Kurt says, still a bit confused, but he holds out his hand for Blaine's phone.

Blaine hands it over, and Kurt punches Brittany's contact details into the phone before handing it back.

"Did she ask you to do an episode of Fondue for Two with her?" Kurt asks; it's the only explanation he can really think of outside of Blaine wanting to ask her on a date, which would just be absurd..

"What? No, what's that?" Blaine asks, and Kurt can't help but laugh a little at the mild flash of panic in Blaine's eyes.

"It's her internet talk show. She'd probably love to have the lead soloist of the Warblers on. I'm sure it won't be too long before she's asking," Kurt smirks, and Blaine seems to calm down a little with the explanation.

"Oh alright, that's cool. I just, um... I wanted to ask her out." Blaine says.

Kurt cocks his head to the side and looks at Blaine, narrowing his eyes. "Ask her out... to what?"

"Like, on a date," Blaine clarifies, and Kurt actually _laughs_ at that.

"Blaine, that's ridiculous. You're gay," he says with a frown.

"Well... maybe I'm not," Blaine says simply, shrugging his shoulders.

Kurt stares at him, mouth slightly agape, for a moment before he regains his ability to speak. "Blaine. Brittany is a girl. You like boys."

"I know, but I kissed her at that party, and I just... I'm not so sure," Blaine offers, and he's frowning now, too.

"You were _drunk_ , Blaine. Just because you kissed one girl while you were drunk doesn't mean you're suddenly straight."

Blaine can't be serious. This is ridiculous. Blaine is clearly gay, he was just drunk and now he's confused and Kurt needs to help him see that. He's heard Blaine talk about boys; there's no way he's straight.

"I know I'm not straight," Blaine replies, his frown deepening, "I definitely like boys. But... maybe I like girls, too."

Kurt just stares at him, reeling, trying to process the words he's hearing. He's lived his whole life up to this point knowing that he doesn't have a chance with any of the guys he has ever liked, and he's been able to accept that he will _always_ lose them to a girl. And that's okay, because he knew that someday, he would meet a man who _didn't_ choose a girl over him, and he had been so _sure_ that would be Blaine. Even if Blaine never picked him, at least he wouldn't pick a _girl_ , but now here he is, asking Kurt for Brittany's number, and this is just too much.

"Maybe I'm bi, I don't know. I'm just trying to figure myself out here," Blaine continues.

"You're not _bi_ , Blaine, you're gay, and this is clearly you just wanting to be able to feel _normal_ , or something, but you don't have to pretend to be someone you're not around me."

That must be what this is, right? Blaine is _gay_ , and Blaine has always been so confident about it; Kurt is flabbergasted that it's even a question at this point.

"I'm not trying to just feel normal, and I'm not pretending to be someone I'm not, Kurt. Why are you so upset about this?"

"Because I admire how out and proud you are! I know what it's like to be in the closet, and here you are about to walk right back in!"

"I'm not going back in the closet, Kurt!" There's frustration in Blaine's voice now, but Kurt doesn't even care, because he's frustrated, too. "Look, I'm sorry if this is confusing for you, or hard for you to understand, but I can guarantee it's a lot more confusing for me. It's great that you know yourself well enough to be 100% sure of who you are, but some people aren't that lucky. Excuse me for not being sure of who I am and trying to _figure it out_."

Kurt narrows his eyes at Blaine; did he _really_ just go there? "Yeah, Blaine, I've had a lot of luck. I was really lucky to be chased out of high school by a bully who threatened to _kill me_."

There's a brief flash of panic on Blaine's face, like he's just realized what he said, but then it's gone and he's narrowing his eyes right back at Kurt. "Yeah, and why did he do that?"

"Because he didn't like who I was!"

"So, sort of exactly what you're doing to me?" Blaine shoots back, and now Kurt is just staring back at Blaine, blood boiling, absolutely _speechless_. Blaine doesn't know everything, but he knows a lot, and how could he _ever_ compare Kurt to Karofsky? He doesn't even know how to respond to the accusation, but he doesn't have a chance anyway, because Blaine keeps talking.

"Look, I don't know what your problem is here, Kurt, but I'm just trying to figure myself out. This is for me. I'm not hiding from anyone, I'm not lying to myself, I'm not pretending, I am just _confused_. And I thought that you, _of all people_ , would understand that, but I guess not." Blaine is standing now, and Kurt just stares back in disbelief. Yes, Blaine is confused, and Kurt is trying to tell him that _there's nothing to be confused about_ , because he's _gay_.

"I'm gonna go. I'd say 'bye', but I wouldn't want to make you mad," and then Blaine is walking out the door of the Lima Bean, and Kurt is sitting at their table alone, wondering what just happened and how it went so wrong.


	9. Chapter 9

The following week at Dalton is tense. Kurt has barely spoken a word to Blaine since he walked out of the Lima Bean on Sunday, and Blaine won't even _look_ at Kurt unless he's absolutely forced to. Kurt knows that Blaine and Brittany did, in fact, go on a date, and apparently they're _dating_ now, which is ridiculous, because Blaine is _gay_ , and Kurt just wants Blaine to stop lying to himself and get over it so everything can go back to normal and he can have his friend back.

He takes a seat at his usual table with Wes and David.

"Where's Blaine?" he asks, because even though they haven't been talking, these are Blaine's friends, and they've all still been sitting together, and it gave Kurt a little hope that maybe everything would work out fine.

"He had to meet with Mrs. Schwartz," David replies.

Kurt just nods. The three boys sit there for a while, eating in silence, before Wes finally speaks.

"What are you doing, Kurt?"

Kurt stops and looks at him for a moment, confused. "I'm... eating my lunch?"

"No, with Blaine," Wes clarifies, and Kurt catches the alarmed look that David shoots at Wes, but Wes doesn't seem to notice, or just doesn't care.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Kurt stutters, but he knows as he says it that everyone at this table knows exactly what Wes is talking about.

"Look, Kurt," Wes starts, "Blaine is pretty confused right now. You know that. We know you know that. And you seem like a pretty accepting guy. So I don't _really_ think that you think that bisexuality isn't real. I'm not sure if it's just because you like him, or-"

"No, I don't-" Kurt starts to argue, but Wes holds up a hand to cut him off before he can start.

"You do. I have eyes, Kurt. Blaine is either somehow completely oblivious to it, or he's just in denial, but anyone with a brain can see that you are head over heels for the boy," Wes says matter-of-factly, and Kurt can feel the blush burning his cheeks, but he doesn't argue, because really, Wes is _right_.

"Blaine needs a friend right now. And quite frankly, you are not being a very good one, and I think you are the one he _needs_. David and I will always be there for him, but there's some things we just don't _get_ , no matter how hard we try. But you _do_ ; or at least, you _should_. You, of all the people in Blaine's life, you should be the one who supports him the most with this, and you've just hung him out to dry."

Kurt's initial reaction is to get defensive, but he holds himself back for a moment as he processes what Wes is saying, and really, he realizes, Wes is kind of right. Kurt _has_ been a bad friend to Blaine this past week. And Wes has a point, it's not that Kurt thinks bisexuality isn't real, he just... didn't want to accept that maybe that was a label that applied to Blaine. But that isn't fair. Who is Kurt to tell Blaine what he is or what he isn't? He knows firsthand just how hard it is to accept yourself for who you are, and how terrifying it is to take the risk to share that with others, and oh god, Blaine had trusted him with this and he'd treated Blaine _horribly_ , and that made him no better than all the homophobes who looked down on him for just being who he was. He felt more blush colouring his cheeks, this time from shame.

"You... you're right. What is _wrong_ with me?" Kurt asks, feeling tears prickle his eyes.

Wes' face softens a little. "Look, Blaine will forgive you, I'm sure, but you need to _talk to him_ and apologize."

"Yeah... yeah, I'll do that. Um, does he have anything going on today? After school?"

"We were going to watch some movies," David chimes in, seemingly relieved that this conversation is going as well as it is, "but I'm sure that could be rearranged. This is more important."

"Okay. I'll, uh, I'll text him, then." Kurt says.

"You're good for him, Kurt. We're glad he has you," Wes says, reaching across the table and patting his arm.

* * *

Like Kurt said he would, he'd texted Blaine to ask if they could meet up to talk. Thankfully, Blaine had agreed, and now Kurt is standing outside Blaine's dorm room waiting for the other boy to show up. He'd knocked, but gotten no answer, and he figures he must have raced Blaine here, which really isn't surprising since he practically ran here from his last class. He fidgets with the buttons on the cuff of his blazer nervously as he waits. Finally, Blaine makes his way down the hall and to the door. He takes a brief glance at Kurt, but doesn't say anything before he's unlocking his door. He opens it, and walks through, but Kurt hesitates in the doorway.

Blaine turns, sitting in his desk chair, when he notices that Kurt isn't following him into the room. "Are you going to come in?"

"Oh, um, yeah, yes," Kurt fumbles awkwardly over the words, and he can feel his heart beating hard in his chest.

Kurt walks into the room and settles himself on the edge of Blaine's bed, facing him. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and then locks eyes with Blaine.

The words start to tumble out of him, and he's speaking so fast that he's not sure Blaine can even make out everything he's saying, but he just needs to get it all out there right now before he loses his nerve. "Blaine, I am _so_ sorry. I have been an awful friend to you this past week, and you've done absolutely nothing to deserve it, and I can't believe I let myself treat you the way I did, or say the things that I did, because they _aren't true_. There's no excuse for how I acted, and-"

"Kurt, slow down, it's... It's okay," Blaine cuts him off, and his expression is a mix of worry and relief.

Kurt gapes at him for a moment before taking a deep breath and starting again, managing to slow himself down somewhat, but still speaking a bit more quickly than usual. "It is absolutely _not_ okay, Blaine, but thank you for, as usual, being a better friend than I am. I... Please let me say all of this, because if I don't say it right now, I don't know if I'll be able to later, and I _need_ to say it."

Kurt pauses for another moment, until Blaine nods silently, and then he picks up again.

"There is no excuse for the things I said to you. I have no right to tell you who you are or who you aren't. I was incredibly biphobic, and I am so sorry, and I need you to know that I do support you, and if you're bi, then that's valid, you are valid, and I will support and care about you just as much as I already do... Or, well, more than I have been, because clearly I haven't been doing a very good job of that lately."

Blaine opens his mouth to say something, but Kurt holds up a hand to quiet him, and Blaine closes his mouth again and stares back at Kurt.

Another deep breath. "Honestly, I just... I was scared. I was scared because you are the only other gay person I know in Ohio, and I didn't want to lose that, to lose you, because you mean a lot to me, Blaine, and our _friendship_ means so much to me. You have to know that. And I was also scared because I... I like you. A lot. And I don't expect you to return those feelings, I know you don't, but even so, I saw you as the one person that I at least didn't have to worry about choosing a girl over me. But all of that is _so_ unfair to you, and I shouldn't be putting that on you, and it is absolutely not an excuse for the way I acted. And I know, I _know_ , that you're dating Brittany now, and I want to support that, I _do_ support that, and I just... I hope that you will give me another chance to be a better friend to you, because you have been the best friend to me, and I don't deserve that, but I really want to try to deserve it."

Kurt takes in a shuddering breath, wipes the tears from his eyes, and wonders at what point during that speech he started crying. He feels like an absolute garbage friend, and he's pretty sure he deserves to feel that way. He just hopes that Blaine will forgive him, but he couldn't blame Blaine for not. They stare at each other silently for a few minutes before Blaine finally speaks.

"I... thank you. I don't know what..." Blaine's eyes are on the floor, and it's almost as if he's studying the ground, searching for the words he wants to say.

"You don't... you don't have to forgive me. I can leave. If you need time, to think about it, I understand. I can go," Kurt offers, gesturing toward the door but really hoping that Blaine won't want him to leave, because he's not sure what he'll do with himself if Blaine doesn't want him around anymore.

"No, that's okay, you- you can stay. Um, I... It's okay. I forgive you," Blaine says, and he looks up, finally, to meet Kurt's eyes.

"Really?" Kurt asks, trying not to sound too hopeful as he feels his heartbeat accelerate.

"Yeah, it's... I get it, I guess. I didn't know that you... I didn't know," he stutters, looking a little helpless.

Kurt purses his lips. He hadn't planned on confessing his feelings for Blaine when he'd texted earlier, but as the day went on he realized that Blaine deserved to know why he said the things he did. Blaine deserved absolute honestly, and Kurt just wanted everything out there at once so that Blaine could decide what to do with it.

"I'm... Brittany is my girlfriend now, Kurt," Blaine says, and why does _he_ look sorry?

Kurt shakes his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I know, Blaine, that's... it's fine. I just... I don't... I'm not expecting anything, I just needed you to know, I guess," he explains as he feels the blush colouring his cheeks, and now Kurt is the one looking down at the floor.

"Okay," Blaine says simply, and the two boys sit in silence for a while before Blaine speaks again. "So... We're good, then?"

Kurt looks up to see a hesitant but hopeful smile on Blaine's face, and he can't help but smile back at him. "Yeah, we're good."


	10. Chapter 10

Kurt sits on the floor of Wes and David's room. He's gotten used to hanging out with the two of them these past few weeks, while Blaine's time has been taken up more and more with spending time with Brittany. Kurt and Blaine have talked some more about it. Blaine has realized he is, in fact, bisexual, and he likes Brittany. And Brittany seems to like him back. So Kurt is happy for Blaine, happy for them, and he tries not to take it too personally when it seems like Blaine would rather spend time with Brittany than with Kurt because, let's face it, Kurt really can't blame him for that. So instead, he's been spending a lot of time with Wes and David, and the two boys have really started to grow on him. He's never really had male friends; his best friends have always been girls, and all of the guys from McKinley were just so _different_ from him that it was hard to get close to them. So instead of dwelling on his feelings for Blaine, he's been trying to focus on enjoying the company of his new friends. His new friends, however, seem to have other plans for him.

"So, Kurt, how are you holding up?" Wes asks, and Kurt thinks this is _very_ out of the blue because he's pretty sure he wasn't doing anything to make Wes think he would be anything other than totally fine.

"I'm... fine? What do you mean?"

"You know, with Blaine and Brittany being a thing," Wes explains.

"What?" Kurt actually laughs, "I'm fine, I was just being stupid, Blaine and I made up about that weeks ago. You knew that, though." He tilts his head and shoots a quizzical look between Wes and David.

"That's not what I mean. You like him, " Wes replies casually.

Kurt is going to argue, but then he remembers that Wes and David already know, and Blaine knows, so really there's no reason to deny it.

"And your point is...?"

"Why are you letting him date this Brittany girl?"

Kurt gapes at Wes for a moment before he can finally find some words. "Okay, you've officially lost me. First you're mad at me for not being supportive, and now you're mad at me for being too supportive...?"

"Wes..." David warns, but Wes just ignore him and continues.

"I'm not mad at you, and it's not about being supportive or not," Wes starts to explain. "You think he'd be dating this girl if he knew you're into him?"

Kurt actually laughs at that. "Well, he does know, so yes, I do."

"What? Blaine _knows_? Blaine knows you like him?"

Kurt just nods.

"Blaine _knows you like him_ and he didn't _tell me_? How long?"

"I um... I told him when I apologized," Kurt mumbles.

David laughs. "Pick your jaw up off the floor, Wes. Of course he didn't tell us. Some people actually know how to keep a secret, and Blaine is one of those people," he says, shooting an accusatory look at Wes.

Wes rolls his eyes, but closes his mouth. "Yeah, whatever. He is such an idiot, though."

"I'm actually pretty glad he didn't tell you," Kurt chimes in.

"That's not why he's an idiot, though," Wes argues.

"Wes!" David scolds him.

"What? I'm not telling his secret if he never admitted to it," Wes smirks.

"You and your loopholes," David sighs, shaking his head, "when Blaine hears about this, I had absolutely _nothing_ to do with it."

"Yeah, whatever," Wes waves his hand at David dismissively and fixes his gaze on Kurt. "Blaine is an idiot because he's not dating _you_."

Kurt splutters at that, "what?"

"It's obvious he's into you. We've been trying to get him to admit it since before you even transferred, but he just won't."

Kurt rolls his eyes, but he feels the blush warming his cheeks as he does it. "I'm pretty sure he's not."

"Trust me," Wes argues, "there's something there. You don't know Blaine like we do. I'd put money on it."

* * *

As much as Kurt likes Dalton and the new friends he's starting to make there, he desperately misses his McKinley friends, and it's times like these when he's especially glad that he and the girls agreed to a monthly sleepover. It's Rachel's turn to host, and Kurt is sitting on the floor behind Tina as he braids her hair.

"So Wes told me this week that Blaine likes me." Kurt tries to say it as casually as he can, but he's sure the girls must be able to hear the underlying excitement.

" _What_?!" Tina exclaims.

"I knew it," Mercedes adds, "I mean, how could he not?"

"I guess he hasn't exactly _admitted_ it, but Wes said that he and David can just tell. Since before I even transferred."

"But Kurt... isn't he dating Brittany?" Rachel asks, a puzzled look on her face.

"Yes, and that's what I said. But Wes said he just knows. That he'd put money on it," Kurt explains, but Rachel just frowns.

"Kurt... I just don't want you to get your hopes up about this. Blaine and Brittany seem like they're happy together and I don't want to see you get hurt when he inevitably won't leave her for you," she says, and her face is sympathetic but her tone is very matter-of-fact in a way that really only Rachel can pull off.

"I don't think he's going to _leave her_ for me, I just... It's nice to hear that there's a chance that someone could like me, I guess. Like that," Kurt sighs.

"Well of course there is, but this is Lima. I'm sure you'll find someone when we finally get to New York," Rachel smiles at him, and he thinks she's trying to be reassuring but she's really only making him feel worse about himself.

Instead of arguing, he just sighs and tries to smile back at her. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Rach."

"Of course I am," she says knowingly, and then she's prattling off again about whatever her most recent Finn issue is, and Kurt tries his best to offer some advice that she'll surely ignore.


	11. Chapter 11

Kurt is sitting next to Wes on his bed, across from David, listening to them argue about pineapple on pizza. David is insisting that the sweetness of the pineapple compliments the saltiness of the pizza just right. Wes is insisting that pineapple on pizza is an abomination and an insult to pizzas everywhere. Kurt himself actually doesn't like pineapple on pizza, but there's no way he can say that to Wes, so he simply sits back and watches, an amused expression on his face.

This is a scene that's been becoming increasingly common over the past month. Blaine has been spending a lot of time with Brittany - _they're dating, it's fine, really, Kurt can handle it_ \- which has left Kurt, Wes, and David to entertain themselves Blaine-less. He wishes he got to see Blaine more often, but he really has been enjoying the other boys' company, and they're always very welcoming to him.

As Wes begins to launch into yet another monologue about the atrocity that is pineapple on pizza, trying to get his point across to David, there's a soft knock on the door. Wes continues to prattle on as David gets up and walks across the room to see who it is. He opens the door, and Kurt peers around David to see Blaine, face red, streaks of tears down his face. Wes shuts up impressively fast.

"Are you alright? What happened?" David asks, ushering Blaine into the room and closing the door softly behind him.

"Brittany broke up with me," Blaine replies, voice wet, and plops down across from Kurt on David's bed. "I don't even-" he stops mid-sentence when he looks up and sees Kurt seated next to Wes on the other bed; he apparently hadn't been expecting Kurt to be here.

"Oh sorry, I... Hi, Kurt," he says dumbly.

Kurt arches an eyebrow at Blaine, barely noticeable. "Hi, Blaine."

Blaine stares at Kurt, and Kurt stares back. They're silent for a moment before Blaine is speaking again.

"Sorry, um, I forgot you guys had plans, I'll just... I'll go," he mutters awkwardly, standing again and heading for the door.

"Blaine, sit back down," Wes says, rolling his eyes.

"No really, it's fine, you guys had plans and I just barged in and I should let you get back to-"

"Blaine," Kurt says, voice firm, firmer than he means it to be, "it's fine. Come sit back down," he finishes a little more softly. He knows what Blaine is doing; Blaine doesn't want to make it awkward for him, and he appreciates the thought, really, he does, but it's also a bit ridiculous, because does Blaine honestly not think Kurt can handle this? They're _friends_ , and Blaine clearly needs his friends right now.

Blaine looks between the three boys, all looking back at him expectantly, before he sighs and sits back down on Wes' bed.

"Sorry, I just... Kurt, I don't want this to be awkward for you," Blaine mutters.

Kurt is a little taken aback, because he knew that's what Blaine was thinking but he didn't actually expect him to _say_ it, they haven't talked about it since Kurt confessed his feelings a month ago, but he recovers quickly.

"It's not, Blaine, it's... really, it's fine." Kurt gives him a tentative smile.

"So, what happened?" Wes asks, and Blaine startles a little, seemingly remembering that there are people in this room other than himself and Kurt.

"I don't know, she... we were just talking, and out of nowhere she says we should break up," Blaine explains helplessly. "And she didn't even have a good reason! She said I wear too much hair gel, and I like Katy Perry too much, and I'm kind of _short_? None of those are reasons to break up with somebody!"

"Those are... what?" Wes asks, eyes squinting in confusion, as though if he looks at Blaine hard enough maybe he'll be able to understand the logic behind her reasons, which is ridiculous because Kurt knows Brittany well enough to also know that you shouldn't try too hard to understand her logic behind _any_ decision.

"If she's going to break up with you for _that_ then honestly, Blaine, it sounds like it was probably for the best," David supplies.

"Yeah, I guess, but it just... sucks," Blaine says, seemingly at a loss for a better word.

"Brittany's nice but she's always been... Well, you know, Brittany," Kurt supplies, and Blaine looks over at him. "I stopped trying to understand her a long time ago. And for what it's worth, I think your love of Katy Perry is kind of endearing," he adds, feeling the blush colour his cheeks, and he didn't really mean to say that last part but it's out there now and he can't take it back.

"You do use too much hair gel, though," Wes chimes in happily.

"And you _are_ short," David adds with a smirk.

Blaine laughs, voice still a little shaky, but a genuine laugh all the same. "Thanks guys, really. It means a lot," he says with a fond eye roll.

The boys spend the rest of the day and into the evening talking and laughing in Wes and David's room. They order some pizzas for supper (notably without pineapple) and eat happily as David and Kurt debate the pros and cons of school uniforms; David thinks they're a good idea because it ensures nobody gets singled out if their family can't afford nice clothes, while Kurt thinks they stifle creativity and discourage individuality. Although, Kurt does concede, they do save the general school population from being subjected to Wes' fashion sense, which is a point for uniforms.

He isn't making a conscious effort, and he doesn't think Blaine is either, but somehow throughout the evening he keeps noticing the two of them drifting closer together. By the end of the evening, they're sitting together on the floor, Blaine's head resting on Kurt's shoulder, and he's pretty sure that Blaine is actually asleep right now. He's also pretty sure that it's really adorable, and... he really shouldn't be thinking about that right now, Blaine was just broken up with, Blaine needs a _friend_ , what is _wrong_ with him?

"Well this has been grand but I think it's time we kick you out," Wes yawns.

Kurt yawns, too; it's contagious. "Yeah, sure. I should probably get home anyway, it's pretty late." Kurt nudges Blaine's side until his eyes flutter open and he lifts his head, looking around a bit disoriented.

"Did... I fell asleep? How long was I out?"

"Just a couple minutes," Kurt reassures him. "Come on, they're kicking us out."

Blaine sits there a moment longer, until Kurt stands and looks down at him expectantly. "Right, yeah, of course," he mumbles, and stands as well.

"See you guys tomorrow," Blaine says, and heads out the door, Kurt following close behind.

They walk together toward Blaine's room; it's on the way to the exit, so Kurt would be walking this way regardless. Neither says a word to the other as they make their way through the halls, and they're walking so closely together that Kurt keeps feeling the brush of Blaine's fingers against his own. He can't bring himself to pull away, and he feels a bit guilty indulging himself in this, but then, Blaine isn't stepping away either so he figures there's no harm.

Kurt yawns again as they reach Blaine's doorway, stopping in front of it to say their goodbyes. "I'll see you on Monday I guess," he says sleepily.

"Yeah, I guess so," Blaine responds. "Are you sure you're okay to drive? You seem pretty tired."

Kurt stifles another yawn; he really _is_ tired, and he hadn't quite noticed until he was up and moving. "Yeah, I'm fine, just... When I get outside in the cold air, I'll be fine."

"Okay, if you're sure," Blaine nods.

"I am. Talk to you later," Kurt says, and then he's walking away down the hall.

Kurt is about 20 paces away before he hears Blaine calls out to him. "Kurt?"

Kurt stops, turning back toward Blaine. "Yeah?"

"I just... Thank you," Blaine says, a little more quietly.

Kurt walks back toward him. "For what?"

"For just... Being there. For me. Being a good friend. I know this hasn't been easy for you, and..." Blaine trails off.

Kurt is a little puzzled. "I... I haven't been a very good friend to you, Blaine," Kurt says, and he looks down at the floor as he feels his cheeks warm. Blaine has been the good friend in their friendship, not Kurt.

"Look at me, Kurt."

It takes a moment, but Kurt lifts his eyes to meet Blaine's.

"You have been a _great_ friend to me, Kurt. You made one mistake, and I get it, and I forgive you. Okay?"

Kurt bites his lip and nods. He sees Blaine's eyes flicker down to... his lips? It's just for a brief moment at first, then they're staring into each others' eyes again. But then Blaine's eyes are on Kurt's lips again, and it's unmistakable. But Kurt doesn't have time to think about it, because then Blaine is closing the distance between them, placing a hand gently on the back of Kurt's neck, and pressing their lips together. It's soft and gentle and it's _everything_ that Kurt has ever thought it would be, and for a moment he forgets that he probably shouldn't be doing this and just gives in to the feeling of Blaine's lips on his. Blaine pulls back after a moment, smiling, and when Kurt opens his eyes, reality comes back to him and he realizes that this really is not how this is supposed to go. Blaine _just_ got out of a relationship, and he's sad and lonely, and Kurt is _there_ and Kurt just can't do this if it doesn't mean anything.

"Blaine, I... I can't do this," he breathes, a whisper. "I can't do this," a little louder, "not... Blaine, you... You just broke up with your girlfriend, and I _can't_ , I..." He knows he's stumbling over his words, but what do you even say in a situation like this? It's not that he doesn't want this, doesn't want to kiss Blaine; of _course_ he does. He just... doesn't want it like this.

"Kurt, shit, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I don't know what I was thinking," Blaine's eyes are filled with concern, the smile immediately erased from his face.

"I should- I have to go," Kurt stutters, and then he's walking briskly down the hallway, leaving Blaine standing alone outside of his room.


	12. Chapter 12

Kurt watches as Blaine hurries out the doors of the Warbler's room as rehearsal ends. Kurt had tried to approach him to talk, but was quickly dismissed by Blaine saying he had to go do _something_ , which was suspicious, because he'd given Kurt the same vague excuse several times this week. He sighs and sits back down on the couch, resting his head back against the cushions. Is it just him, or is Blaine avoiding him? They've barely exchanged two words since the night Blaine kissed him in the hallway. Maybe he shouldn't have left the way he did, but what was he supposed to do? He didn't want to kiss Blaine back and then find out the next day that Blaine regretted it. He knew Blaine was upset, and probably lonely, and Kurt was _there_. He got it, really he did, but he couldn't kiss Blaine if it didn't mean anything. He just couldn't. But he also couldn't handle whatever was between them right now, and he wanted it to be done with. He opens his eyes, gets off the couch, and approaches Wes and David at the front of the room as they pack up their bags.

"Hey Kurt! What's going on?" David asks with a smile.

"Can I ask you guys something?"

"Yeah sure, what's up?" Wes asks.

"Have you noticed... Is Blaine avoiding me?"

Wes and David exchange a look, and Kurt instantly knows that he's right.

"Why is he avoiding me?"

They're both silent for a moment, until David speaks. "Blaine just... has some stuff he's trying to work through. Figure out," David starts to explain.

"It's nothing you did wrong or anything," Wes adds.

"He's not avoiding you two," Kurt points out.

Another look. Then David, "he just needs a bit of time. He'll come around."

"Try not to worry about it, Kurt," Wes says, clapping a hand on Kurt's shoulder, and he flinches ever so slightly but Wes doesn't seem to notice.

"We're getting some pizza, want to come?" David offers, looking at Kurt expectantly.

"I can't, I have to get home. Week night," Kurt shrugs.

"Right, right. Well, we'll see you tomorrow."

They walk through the halls together until it's time to part ways, Kurt making his way to his car in the parking lot. He got exactly zero answers from that conversation, but really, what did he expect; they were Blaine's friends first, so of course they weren't going to tell Kurt anything. Sighing, he turns the keys in the ignition and makes his way home.

* * *

It's Friday when Kurt finally gets a moment alone with Blaine. Kurt walks into the cafeteria to find Blaine sitting alone at their usual table.

"Hi Blaine," he says as he takes his usual seat beside him.

Blaine looks up at Kurt briefly. "Oh, hey Kurt," and then he's looking back down at his lunch as though it's the most interesting the in the world.

This is absolutely infuriating. Kurt wishes Blaine would just _talk to him_ and tell him whatever it is that he did wrong so they can just fix it.

"Did I do something wrong?" Kurt figures now is as good a time as any for this conversation.

Blaine looks up at him then, a confused expression on his face. "What?"

"I said, did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not," and Blaine sounds genuinely confused, like he doesn't what Kurt could possibly be talking about, and _really_?

"Then why have you been avoiding me for the past week?"

Blaine is silent for a moment, and Kurt is pretty sure he's blushing. "I haven't... I, um...," he seems at a loss for words.

"You have, and I want to know why. If I did something wrong, Blaine, I'm sorry, but you need to _tell me_."

"You didn't-" Blaine starts, and then cuts himself off with a sigh, then a deep breath. "Kurt, I'm sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. It's me, I... Can we talk about this later? In private?"

This was not how Kurt had expected this conversation to go. It catches him a little off guard.

He nods dumbly, "um, yeah, sure. Okay."

"Meet me at my room? After classes?"

"Yeah. Sure," Kurt nods again.

Blaine smiles, and Kurt swears he sees the blush again.

* * *

When Kurt gets to Blaine's room, Blaine is already there waiting for him.

"Hey, come on in," Blaine says, opening the door for him and gesturing toward the bed for him to take a seat. Kurt sits, and Blaine takes a seat beside him; that's the first thing that throws Kurt off. Blaine almost always sits in his desk chair when Kurt is sitting on the bed.

Kurt looks at him expectantly. He's here to hear Blaine's explanation, and he'd rather hear it sooner than later.

Blaine sighs. "I'm sorry, Kurt. I haven't been... intentionally avoiding you. I just needed... time to think, I guess." He pauses, takes a breath, and then starts again. "I'm sorry I kissed you on Friday. I shouldn't have done that."

Kurt feels his cheeks brighten.

"I get why you left after that, and I mean you were leaving anyway so _of course_ you left, right? But I just mean that I understand why you left _then_ as opposed to why you were leaving before then, I guess, and-"

"Blaine," Kurt cuts him off.

"... Yeah?"

"You're rambling."

Blaine huffs out a short laugh. "Right, sorry. Anyway. I get it. And I just needed some time, to think. About what I want."

About what he... no way. There's no way that this is going where it sounds like it's going. Kurt holds his breath as Blaine continues.

"I care about you, Kurt. So much. And it wouldn't be fair to you if I didn't really, seriously think this through first. And I have, now. And I know what I want." Another deep breath. "Kurt, last Friday, when I was upset, and you were just there for me. That was a moment, for me. About you. And I just realized that you are _always_ there, because that's just who you are. You're loyal, and caring, and you would do anything, _anything_ , for the people you love, even to your own detriment. And I just... I want to be one of those people. I want to be that _person_ for you."

Blaine shifts on the bed then, angling himself further toward Kurt, and their knees brush. Kurt feels like his face is on fire, but he can't look away from the honey-brown eyes that are staring back into his with such conviction.

"I want this to be something. I want _us_ to be something. I think I've wanted that for a while, and I'm not sure how I didn't see it before, but I see it now. And I want to do this the right way."

Blaine reaches his hand up, softly resting it against Kurt's cheek, "May I kiss you?"

Kurt is having a very hard time controlling his breathing as he tries to wrap his mind around the words that Blaine is saying, because this is so surreal and absolutely not what he was expecting as he made his way to Blaine's room today. He expected that it had something to do with the kiss, maybe Blaine regretted it, but not _this_. This is just... _what_? He's pulled out of his thoughts when Blaine starts talking again, worry flickering across his features as his hand drops back down to rest on his knee.

"Kurt? Are you okay? I'm sorry if-"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes," Kurt nods.

"Yes... what?" Blaine asks, and Kurt thinks he sees a bit of hope in Blaine's eyes, and it makes his heart skip a beat.

"Kiss me."

There's a brilliant smile, and then Blaine's hand is back on his face and Blaine's lips are on his and, again, it is _everything_ that Kurt has ever hoped it would be. _This_ is what a first kiss should be. It's sweet and gentle and tastes like Blaine and it's intoxicating. When Blaine pulls back, they're both breathless, and they stare into each others' eyes for a moment before they're both leaning forward to meet each other again, lips crashing together, and Kurt brings his hands up, fingers threading into Blaine's hair.

They pull back again, foreheads resting again each other, eyes still closed. Kurt feels Blaine's soft breaths ghosting his cheeks as they both calm their breathing and he tries to let his brain catch up with reality, to let himself register that this is real.

"Kurt Hummel," Blaine starts, and when Kurt opens his eyes he can see Blaine's staring deeply back into his, "will you be my boyfriend?"

Kurt's breath catches in his throat for a moment, before he manages to whisper out a quiet "yes," and then Blaine's lips are on his again and he's getting lost in the feel and the smell and the taste of _Blaine_.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who has been reading this! I love reading your comments and hearing your thoughts. Kurt and Blaine are finally together! I know it took a while, so please enjoy this cute & fluffy Klaine scene as a thank you for your patience. :)

Kurt is sitting across from Blaine at Breadstix and he still cannot believe that this is really happening. Not being at Breadstix; Kurt and Blaine have been here together before. But they've never been here together before on a _date_. Together. The two of them. Kurt is pretty sure he's been blushing since Blaine picked him up at his house, bouquet of flowers in hand. And that's another thing; Blaine brought him _flowers_. This boy is beautiful, and perfect, and all Kurt's.

"Kurt?" Kurt is pulled from his thoughts by Blaine's voice.

He shakes his head slightly and focuses his eyes on Blaine, whose head is tilter slightly to the side, questioningly, but there's a smile on his face.

"Sorry, I was just lost in thought for a moment, what were you saying?"

"What were you thinking about?" Blaine asks, all warm eyes and beautiful smiles and if Kurt isn't just the luckiest guy in the world.

"You," he says, looking down at the table in front of him shyly and he feels the familiar warmth colouring his cheeks.

Blaine doesn't say anything, and for a brief moment Kurt panics, wonders if maybe that was too much, if he should have brushed it off. But then he chances a glance up at Blaine who is absolutely _beaming_ back at him, and he figures the truth was a good call there.

"I really like you."

"I really like you, too," Kurt smiles back.

Kurt could get lost in the honey-brown of Blaine's eyes. There's so much depth, rich brown with flecks of green around the irises and Kurt would stare at them forever, but then the waitress is there handing them their meals. She slides Kurt's caesar salad onto the table in front of him, followed by Blaine's fettuccine alfredo, before telling them to be sure to flag her down if they need anything and then making her way to the next table.

Blaine twirls some pasta on his fork then pops it into his mouth, and instantly moans. "Oh my god, this is _really_ good."

Kurt is pretty sure that moan should not turn him on as much as it does (or _at all_ , really), but hearing that sound from Blaine just _does something_ to him. Not that he would admit it to Blaine, of course. He takes a different approach.

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full, Blaine, it's impolite." He tries to sounds stern, scolding, but instead there's a smirk on his face and his tone is just teasing.

Blaine smirks back, but does as he's told and swallows the mouthful before he speaks again. "Seriously though, it's _really_ good. You should try some."

"No that's fine, you enjoy it."

"Seriously, Kurt, you have got to try this. It's delicious."

Kurt is about to argue again, but Blaine is already holding out his fork, pasta neatly swirled around the tines, for Kurt to try, and it's kind of adorable and romantic so why not? He leans forward and takes the pasta on the offered fork into his mouth.

As he tastes it, he makes a surprised, high-pitched hum of approval. "You were right!"

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full, Kurt. I've heard it's considered rude," Blaine quips with a smirk.

Kurt tries to glare back at him, but there's no heat behind it. He finishes chewing the pasta and then swallows.

"That was surprisingly good. I'm impressed."

"Fettuccine alfredo is always good. Everything about it is good."

"I don't know about that. I usually try to avoid cream-based sauces. They're just so heavy, and dairy isn't great for your vocal chords if you'll be performing soon, and you never know when that could happen."

"Oh come on, Kurt! Even the _name_ fettuccine alfredo is good."

"It is a good name, I'll admit that."

"I always thought it would be a good name for a baby," Blaine adds, and he sounds serious, but there is _no way_ this boy is serious... right?

Kurt barks out a laugh. "What? You can't name a _baby_ Fettuccine Alfredo!"

"Why not? People name their babies after food all the time. Apple, Peanut, Peaches." If anyone else was insisting on naming their child after a pasta dish, he would think it was ridiculous, but when Blaine does it it's somehow endearing.

"Those are all celebrities, Blaine," Kurt replies, rolling his eyes fondly.

"So then if we grow up to be celebrities, can we name our baby Fettuccine Alfredo?"

Kurt's heart simultaneous stops and beats out of his chest as he registers Blaine's words. _Our_ baby. Did he hear that right? He's pretty sure he did. He's so used to being so alone, he never really let himself consider that a boyfriend, that a _family_ , was actually a possibility for him. But here is this perfect boy sitting in front of him, talking about their future children, and even though he knows this is just their first date and high school relationships don't usually last, the idea of it is absolutely intoxicating and he lets himself get caught up in it probably just a little bit too long. He has the biggest, dopiest smile on his face and he couldn't stop smiling if he wanted to, which is perfectly okay, because he doesn't want to stop smiling, he doesn't want this night to ever end, because it's perfect.

"Kurt...? Are you...?"

"Sorry, you just... you said 'our baby'."

"I... Oh, crap, sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No, Blaine, it's... it's fine," he reassures with a warm smile, and reaches his hand across the table, face up, for Blaine to take. Blaine reaches across with his own to close the distance, and their hands join in the middle of the table, and Kurt never wants to let go.

"If we grow up to be famous, we can name our baby Fettuccine Alfredo," Kurt agrees.

* * *

Kurt settles onto his bed, cross-legged, with his laptop resting in front of him. He scrolls to Mercedes' contact and hits the call button, then leans back against the wall and waits for her to pick up. He doesn't have to wait long; before the first ring ends, her face appears on the screen.

"So, tell me all about it!" she insists with a wide smile.

Kurt can't help but smile back. "It was amazing," he says simply, because really what else is there to say?

"Nice try. Spill. I need details!" she laughs as she shoots him a playful glare.

"Fine, fine," he says, because he knows he isn't getting out of it that easy anyway, and to be honest, he doesn't really want to. He had an amazing date with Blaine, and he's excited to tell Mercedes all about it. Of course he's very close with both Rachel and Tina, but he still considered Mercedes his best friend, and sometimes it's nice to talk to her without having Rachel around to make everything about her.

"He's just... so great, Mercedes. We didn't stop talking the whole time, it wasn't awkward at all, it just felt... right, you know? I mean, I knew it wouldn't be awkward, because we were already friends and spent so much time together. But he paid for my dinner, and he walked me to my door and kissed me goodnight, and I never really thought I'd have this, I guess, at least not until I can get out of here."

Mercedes is smiling warmly at him through the screen. "I'm really happy for you, Kurt. You deserve someone like Blaine."

Kurt blushes a little, but doesn't deny it. "Thanks 'Cedes. I just... I really like him."

She laughs at that. "I can tell! And no offense, but he's a much better choice than Finn."

"Mercedes!" Kurt scolds, tone shocked but really he shouldn't be surprised anymore.

She laughs even harder at that. "It's the truth and you know it!"

"I know it is but we don't talk about that anymore!" Kurt drops his voice a bit lower, and then, "he's my brother now."

"Oh come on, it's funny," she teases.

"You have an interesting definition of funny."

"You just have no sense of humour."

"If anyone here has no sense of humour, it's _you_."

"Whatever you say, Kurt."


	14. Chapter 14

Wes' laughter rings out through the Dalton common room, happy and full. Kurt sits on the couch, feet tucked under him and leaning into Blaine, as they listen to David telling a story about his little sister from the weekend before. She's 3 and a half years old and sometimes adorable but also sometimes does things like colour on the walls with marker, which is admittedly less adorable but also results in, if Wes' reaction is anything to go by, absolutely hilarious stories.

"Wes, it's funny, but I really don't think it's _that_ funny," Blaine says with a chuckle.

"But it... really... is..." Wes wheezes out, trying to get his laughter under control.

"Wes has a special place in his heart for Maria," Blaine explains to Kurt, smiling.

"I think it's because he's an only child," David provides. "He gets to see her at her best. If he ever had to live with her, I think he'd change his mind pretty fast."

Wes clasps his hand to his chest with mock disgust. "I would _never_. Maria is a precious child and I would love her even more if she were my own blood."

David rolls his eyes, "Sure you would."

Wes looks about to protest, but then someone clears their throat from behind the couch Kurt and Blaine are cuddled up on, and he seems to think better of it.

"Hello, Blaine," a man's voice says, and in an instant Blaine is sitting up straight, pulling away from Kurt, and turning to face the man.

"Oh, hi, dad," Blaine says, and Kurt just barely registers the surprise in his voice over his own surprise because this is Blaine's _dad_ and he is absolutely _not_ prepared to meet his boyfriend's father right now.

Blaine's father looks between the group of boys, his eyes falling on Kurt last and resting there for a moment, scrutinizing, before shifting back to Blaine. "This is a new face," he says.

"Right, this uh... this is my friend, Kurt. He transferred here recently," Blaine explains, and it's true except not really because he's not just Blaine's friend, he's Blaine's _boyfriend_ , and it's not like it's a secret so why wouldn't he tell his dad? Is Blaine ashamed of him?

"I see," his father says, eyes flicking back to Kurt for a brief moment before focusing on Blaine again. "Well, are you ready to go?"

And now Kurt is just confused because he didn't know Blaine was going anywhere; weren't they supposed to spend the afternoon together? Unless Blaine expects Kurt to come with him and his father? He really hopes not, because he is _definitely_ not prepared to spend an afternoon with his boyfriend's father, and especially not when said father doesn't know they're boyfriends.

"Oh, right, I um... I kind of forgot, actually. Sorry. Just let me go grab my wallet and then we can go." Blaine stands up, then turns back to the group of boys for a moment. "Sorry guys, I uh... I'll be back later tonight," he says, and then he's walking away with his father and Kurt is left sitting there, looking after his boyfriend, wondering what the hell just happened there.

All of his feelings must have been showing on his face, because he's brought out of his thoughts by David's concerned voice. "Are you okay, Kurt?"

Kurt blinks, shakes his head, and looks at Wes. "Yeah, I just... his _friend_?"

David and Wes exchange a look, and what is _that_ supposed to mean?

David speaks again. "Blaine's dad is not exactly... very accepting. Or supportive," he explains, a little awkwardly.

Oh. _Oh_. But no, that doesn't make sense. Blaine would have told him that... right?

"But he... his dad was the one who had him transferred here, after..." he trails off, leaving the unsaid words to hang in the air. He knows that Wes and David know what had happened to Blaine before he transferred to Dalton. And Blaine had told Kurt that his father was the one who suggested it in the first place. Kurt's own father was the one to suggest that Kurt transfer here after his own incident, he knows it was done from a place of caring and concern, love, so he'd just assumed Blaine's father must at the very least _accept_ that his son isn't straight. And Blaine has never said otherwise.

Wes and David exchange another look, and Kurt is about this close to smacking them both because those _knowing looks_ are driving him _crazy_ , but then Wes speaks up.

"That was really only for his own public image," Wes explains, except that really isn't an explanation because how would transferring Blaine to a private all-boys school to get him away from severe bullying because he likes boys help his father's public image? The question must be clear on his face, because David steps in to explain further.

"If Blaine is here, and nobody is giving him any trouble for being into guys, it's easier for his family to just... pretend that he's not."

And then it all clicks. That does make sense. A lot of sense, actually. And it makes Kurt sick to think about, because Blaine is amazing and beautiful and perfect and how could his family not see that? Just because he's bi? Of course he knows there are lots of people out there who will hate you for being anything other than straight, he's experienced plenty of their hatred first-hand himself, but his father has always been so supportive of him and he sometimes forgets that sometimes that hatred can come from your own family, and his heart breaks for Blaine. How did he not _know_?

"I didn't...," Kurt starts, but his doesn't finish the sentence.

He's ashamed, in a way; his boyfriend's friends knew this about him, but he had no clue. He and Blaine talked all about his own struggles with being gay, and he was realizing now that they spent far less time talking about Blaine's. Why was that? Kurt had asked, sure, but had he not pushed hard enough? Had talking about Kurt's supportive father made Blaine feel embarrassed, ashamed, about his own family? Did Kurt do something to make Blaine not trust him enough to share that? But surely if that was the case, Blaine's friends wouldn't be telling him now. A million thoughts run through his head, each one breaking his heart just a little bit more.

"Kurt, it's okay. He tries not to talk about it, we wouldn't have expected you to know," David explains.

"We had to get him drunk before he would tell us anything about his family besides that he has one," Wes says with a smirk, clearly trying to lighten the mood but now Kurt is just worried more because maybe he _shouldn't_ know this, but he sure knows it now and he doesn't think he can pretend that he doesn't.

"Would he not want me to know?" Kurt asks, eyes wide, hoping that they aren't going to ask him to keep t a secret.

Wes and David exchange a look, again, and Kurt is _seriously_ going to slap them if they do that one more time.

"He... I don't think so," Wes says, and shit, that was _not_ what Kurt had wanted to hear. The panic must be clear on his face because David cuts in quickly.

"No, he would want you to know. He'll probably be glad he doesn't have to explain it himself, honestly."

Kurt lets out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. "Okay."

They let the topic drop, and David starts up with another story about Maria, but Kurt can't really concentrate. All he can think about is his boyfriend, and how he's been dealing with this silently for so long, and what can Kurt do to help?

* * *

"Hey kid, how was your date?" Burt stops Kurt as he makes his way through the living room. Kurt has just arrived home after spending the rest of the afternoon with Wes and David; Blaine hadn't returned, but he had promised his dad and Carole that he would be home for supper that night.

Kurt rolls his eyes. "It wasn't a date, dad."

"You know what I meant."

"It was fine," he says as he continues through the living room toward the stairs.

"Fine?" his father asks, incredulous.

Kurt sighs, then turns around and walks over to the couch, sitting. "Blaine spent the day with his dad."

Burt cocks an eyebrow at his son. "Wasn't he supposed to spend the day with you?"

"He was, but he forgot his dad was coming to get him, and then he just showed up. So I just spent the afternoon with Wes and David."

Burt looks at him for a moment before he speaks. "So... you're mad at him for forgetting about his plans with his dad?" he tries.

Kurt sighs. "No, I'm not mad at him. I'm... upset. Not with him, but just... He introduced me as his friend."

His father's eyebrows shoot up at that. "And you're not upset at him for that? Anyone should be proud to have you as their boyfriend, Kurt, and if this Blaine kid-"

"No, dad, it's not like that," Kurt cuts him off quickly, before he can start tearing into Blaine because it's _really_ not like that, "he... his dad is not... very supportive, I guess."

"Oh," Burt says simply as he scratches the back of his neck; first he seems a little loss, and then he seems a little angry. "I just don't understand how a father couldn't be supportive of his own son, just because he happens to like guys? I know, Kurt, that it happens, but I just... it's nuts!"

"I know, dad. I didn't... he didn't even tell me. I didn't know his family was like that. I think maybe he was embarrassed to tell me, or ashamed, because he knows how great you've been, and I just... I wish he had someone like you. I think he needs it."

Burt seems to think about it for a moment before he responds. "You should invite him for Friday night dinner."

"What?" Kurt blinks at him; that was certainly not what he was expecting his father to say.

"Yeah, I mean, you said his family isn't supportive, let's show him not everyone is like that. And if this is getting serious, Kurt, I gotta meet the kid anyway, right?" Burt points out.

"Okay," Kurt agrees, "but you have to promise, _promise_ me, that you aren't going to scare him," he warns.

Burt laughs, "I'm not going to scare him, I just want to meet him."

"Dad, you can be a bit intimidating, even if you don't mean to."

"I will be on my best behaviour, promise."

Kurt rolls his eyes, then gets up and continues on his way to his room. Just before leaving the living room, he stops and turns to face his father.

"Hey, dad?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"Thanks," Kurt says, shooting him a grateful smile.

"Of course," Burt smiles back.


	15. Chapter 15

Kurt is sitting at their usual table with Wes and David at lunch on Monday when Blaine approaches them, but he doesn't sit down to join them like he usually does.

"Hey, uh, Kurt, could I talk to you for a minute?" Blaine looks _so_ concerned and Kurt just wants to hug him.

"Yeah, of course," he says, standing up and taking Blaine's hand.

Blaine leads him out of the cafeteria and starts down the hallway. Kurt is pretty sure what this is about, but he doesn't say anything. He follows along silently as Blaine leads them into an empty classroom, closing the door behind him. Blaine faces the door for a moment before he turns to look at Kurt, and when he does, Kurt can see all the sadness, fear, guilt, _panic_ in Blaine's eyes and again all he wants to do is surge forward and hug his beautiful boyfriend, but he doesn't, because he knows that this conversation needs to happen.

"Kurt, I am so sorry. _So_ sorry. I just forgot he was coming, and then he was there, and-"

"Blaine..."

"-I just couldn't- I didn't want- he's just-"

"Blaine."

"-he wouldn't have-"

" _Blaine_."

Blaine clamps his mouth shut. Kurt was going to let Blaine say what he had planned, but he's starting to think that Blaine doesn't actually really _have_ a plan, and he's pretty sure Blaine has it all wrong anyway.

"It's okay. I get it." Kurt hesitates for a moment before adding, "Wes and David told me."

Blaine exhales slowly. "Kurt, really, I'm sor-"

"You don't need to apologize, Blaine. Really. It's okay."

They stare at each other in silence for a moment, Blaine clearly fighting back the apology that wants to pour out of him.

"I'm sorry I didn't know," Kurt says softly.

"You couldn't have known. I didn't tell you," Blaine responds.

"I know, but... I should have figured it out."

"I didn't want you to," Blaine says, and then he's staring down at the floor, like he's ashamed, and Kurt will be having absolutely none of that.

"Hey, no, look at me," Kurt steps forward and takes Blaine's face in his hands, bringing Blaine's eyes up to look at him. "You shouldn't feel ashamed of how someone else treats you. It's not your fault. You don't have to tell me things if you don't want me to know, I'll understand, I promise. I know some things are too personal. But you should _never_ feel ashamed because your family doesn't accept you for who you are." Kurt smoothes a curl on the side of Blaine's head as it tries to break free from the gel.

"Blaine Anderson, you are the strongest," a kiss to Blaine's right cheek, "bravest," a kiss to his left, "most beautiful," his forehead, "most amazing," the tip of his nose, "person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You should be proud of who you are, of everything you are, of everything you continue to be despite what anyone else may have to say about it," a quick kiss to his lips, and then Kurt pulls back, rests their foreheads together, and they're staring into each others' eyes.

"Thank you," Blaine says simply, a smile playing at his lips, finally, and Kurt thinks it might be the best thing he's ever seen.

"My dad wants you to come to Friday night dinner."

Blaine pulls back a little and fixes Kurt with a confused gaze. "What?"

"My dad wants you to come to Friday night dinner," Kurt repeats, "this Friday."

Blaine blinks. "Why?"

"He wants to meet you."

Kurt watches Blaine's face carefully. He's usually pretty good at telling what his boyfriend is feeling, but he's not quite what's going through Blaine's head right now.

"You don't have to if you don't want, if it's too much he'll under-"

"No, it's not. I'll come. I just..." Blaine interrupts, then trails off.

"You what?"

Blaine looks at Kurt silently for a moment, seemingly debating whether he should say what he's thinking or not. Evidently he decides to say it.

"Your dad is kind of intimidating, is all."

Kurt actually barks out a laugh; he doesn't mean to, but it happens. He clamps a hand over his mouth quickly to try to stifle it.

"Sorry, it's not funny, I... I know he seems intimidating. He really is just a big teddy bear, though," Kurt reassures.

Blaine doesn't seem convinced. "I've heard you talk about when he's angry. That sounds less like a teddy bear and more like a grizzly bear," Blaine points out, and Kurt can't help but be a little amused at the serious tone in Blaine's voice.

"Blaine, he's not going to have any reason to be angry. He's going to love you. I promise. And I made him promise to be on his best behaviour."

Blaine shoots Kurt a skeptical look.

"Trust me," Kurt says.

Blaine give him a tentative smile. "I do."

* * *

Kurt is in the kitchen with Carole, grabbing place settings for the dining room table as she checks on the chicken in the oven.

"What time will Blaine be here, sweetie?" Carole asks, smiling at him as she straightens up and closes the oven door.

Kurt glances up at the clock on the kitchen wall quickly, for what must be the hundredth time that afternoon, before continuing to the cupboard and pulling out some plates.

"I told him to be here by 6, so he should be here soon." He tries to keep the anxiety he's feeling out of his voice.

Blaine is an absolute gentleman and he's sure that his family will love his boyfriend, but he still can't help but feel anxious about bringing a boy home. He opens a drawer and starts pulling out cutlery.

Once the place settings have been gathered, he picks everything up and moves to leave the kitchen. As he passes Carole, she gently reaches out and places her hand on his arm to stop him.

"Kurt, don't worry. I'm sure we'll love him," she says with a warm smile.

Kurt looks at her, gives a small smile back. "I know. Thanks, Carole."

Then the moment passes with the ring of the doorbell, and the anxiety returns. Carole lets out a small chuckle.

"Here, let me take these. Go answer the door," she says as she takes the stack of plates out of his arms.

Kurt doesn't reply, just lets her take them and then makes his way to the door, quickly, before anyone else can get there, except Finn is already standing there with the door open and Blaine is standing outside on the front step and they're both just _standing there_.

Finn must notice Blaine's attention turn to Kurt, because he turns as well to look at Kurt. "Hey dude, you're uh... Blaine's here."

Kurt rolls his eyes. Finn can just be so _awkward_ sometimes.

"I see that, Finn. Thanks."

"I'll just, uh, be in the living room I guess," Finn says as he shuffles off down the hallway, and Kurt is thankful that Finn at least has the sense to give them a little privacy.

Honestly, Finn's reaction was the one he was most worried about tonight. Finn has come a long way in being okay with Kurt being gay since they'd become step brothers, but he could still be awkward about it at times; not only that, but Blaine had also briefly dated Brittany, and Kurt knew that Finn was kind of confused about that as well.

"Can I come in?" Blaine asks, the hint of a smirk on his face but Kurt can see the nerves there as well.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Kurt says, ushering Blaine into the house and closing the door behind him. "Well, this is where I live. I can give you a tour if you want?"

"I'd love that," Blaine smiles back at him.

Kurt takes Blaine's hand and leads him toward the stairs. He figures they can start with upstairs as a warm up before he has to introduce Blaine to the rest of his family. Kurt points out the different doorways along the hallway; his dad and Carole's bedroom, the bathroom, Finn's bedroom. Then they come to the last door in the hallway.

"And this is my room," Kurt explains as he opens the door and leads Blaine inside. "You should feel honoured to be in here; very few people get that privilege," he smirks.

"I am very honoured," Blaine says as he walks around the room, looking at some of the decorations and photos. He stops in front of the vanity, a little out of place amongst the other decor in the room.

Kurt walks to Blaine's side and looks back at them standing together in the mirror. "It was my mother's," he says simply, and in the mirror he sees Blaine turn to look at him, and he turns to face Blaine as well.

"It's beautiful," Blaine replies, then places a sweet, chaste kiss on Kurt's lips. "You're beautiful," followed by another, deeper kiss, and Kurt lets himself melt into this one, moving his lips against Blaine's, breathing him in, and he almost forgets why Blaine is here until he's brought back to reality by a knock on his door, which is really only a courtesy because the door is actually still open.

Kurt pulls away from Blaine and whirls around to find his father standing in the doorway, and his face must be bright red.

"Hey buddy, uh, Carole said supper's ready," Burt says, and then he disappears down the hallway.

Blaine groans. "He hates me already!"

Kurt scoffs playfully. "He doesn't hate you, Blaine. He's going to love you. Come on."

Kurt takes Blaine's hand again, and leads him down the hallway, down the stairs, and into the dining room. Burt and Finn are already seated at the table, and Carole is placing the chicken in the center. They all look at the boys expectantly as they enter.

"Blaine, you already know Finn," Kurt starts, gesturing at his step brother, "and this is my dad, Burt, and Carole. Everyone, this is Blaine."

Blaine reaches for Carole's hand, and when she places her hand in his he brings it up and places a light kiss on top, and then he's extending his hand to Burt. Burt reaches out and they exchange a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Hummel."

"Call me Burt, kid. It's good to meet you, too."

"And you can call me Carole," Carole insists with a warm smile.

Kurt and Blaine take their seats, across the table from Finn. Carole brings in the pitcher of water, filling up the glasses, and then the whole family is seated at the table.

"We've heard a lot about you, Blaine. It's nice to finally meet you," Carole tries, breaking the awkward silence at the table.

"Only good things, I hope," Blaine replies, and Carole laughs.

"Yes, of course! All good things."

"Except the whole thing with Brittany," Finn adds, and Kurt is pretty sure that Finn didn't _intend_ to make things awkward again, but really, does the boy have _any_ common sense? The trait doesn't seem to have been inherited, because luckily his stepmother has some, and thank god she is here or this dinner would be so much worse.

"So Blaine, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself," Carole asks, changing the subject, and Kurt could not be more grateful.

The rest of the dinner goes quite well, as far as Kurt is concerned. A few awkward silences, but Finn doesn't bring up Brittany again, Burt and Blaine bond a little over football, and Blaine, ever the gentleman, seems to have sufficiently charmed Carole. It goes just as well as Kurt could have hoped for, and while he knew his family was going to love Blaine, he still does feel a bit better knowing with certainty that they like him.

After desert, they're gathered in the living room and, to Kurt's horror, Burt has decided that this is the perfect time to share some stories about his childhood.

"-and when Elizabeth and I finally managed to track him down, we found him in the Barbie aisle rearranging all the dolls by the colour dress they were wearing," Burt finished with a laugh, and Carole and Blaine laugh with him.

"I'm not sure why that's so funny, they should have been organized that way in the first place and then I wouldn't have had to do it!" Kurt insists, crossing his arms across his chest, but everyone just laughs harder at that.

"Or there was the time when he was four, and Elizabeth and I got him a babysitter so we could have a date night-" Burt starts, but Kurt cuts him off quickly because Blaine does _not_ need to know this story.

"Blaine, it's getting late, didn't you say you had to get back to Dalton by 9:30?"

Blaine looks at Kurt, a smirk on his face, and Kurt would scowl if Blaine wasn't so cute when he did that. "Yeah, but I'm sure I have time for one more story."

"No really, I think you should get going, I don't want you to have to rush," Kurt insists, standing and pulling Blaine up with him.

Blaine frowns a little, but doesn't argue anymore. "I guess you're right, I should probably get going. It was very nice to meet you all, and thank you for a delicious supper, Carole," Blaine says, and the hint of a frown is gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced with a warm smile.

"It was lovely meeting you as well, Blaine. You're welcome anytime," Carole says, returning Blaine's smile with a warm one of her own.

"Good to meet you kid," Burt says, smiling as well.

Finn chimes in with a "see you around," and then Kurt is leading Blaine out of the living room.

Kurt hands him his coat from the closet, and as he pulls it on, he frowns again.

Blaine studies Kurt for a moment, as though thinking, and then, "is everything okay?"

Kurt blinks back at him. Of course everything is okay. Why wouldn't it be? And then he says as much.

"Yes, of course, everything's fine. Why?"

"Just... Are you trying to get rid of me?" Blaine looks hurt, and _oh_.

"No, Blaine, of course not, I just... no. I just needed my dad to stop talking," he says, and he feels guilty because it really wasn't _that bad_ and he didn't mean to make Blaine feel like he wasn't wanted.

Blaine smiles a bit again at that. "Were you embarrassed?" he asks, and the tone is teasing.

"No, it's just... a little," Kurt admits.

"Don't be," Blaine reassures, placing a hand on Kurt's arm, "I thought the stories were adorable. I think you're adorable."

They stand there for a moment, smile at each other, enjoying a comfortable silence.

"I will hear that babysitter story, though," Blaine says with a smirk.

"Not a chance," Kurt says, matching Blaine's smirk.

"I really should get going, though," Blaine says, gesturing toward the door.

"Right, yeah, you should," Kurt agrees, but neither of them makes a move for the door, feet planted in place.

"Thank you for coming," Kurt says with a sweet smile, and he really means it.

Kurt's family is one of the most important things to him, and he loves that Blaine is so willing to meet them and be involved. It makes him fall just a little bit harder for this beautiful boy standing in front of him.

"Thank you for inviting me. You're family is really great."

"I told you they'd love you," Kurt says, nudging Blaine and smirking.

Blaine gives him a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I guess you did."

Kurt leans forward, plants a short, sweet kiss on Blaine's lips, then pulls back.

"Text me when you get back so I know you're home safe?"

"Of course," Blaine replies with a smile, and then he's out the door, in his car, and pulling out of the driveway.


	16. Chapter 16

Blaine is Kurt's boyfriend, so of course they _do things_ together sometimes. But they're still young, and Kurt still feels like he doesn't know what he's doing, and so they've been taking things slow. And Kurt is happy with that. As much as he likes Blaine, and he _really_ does like Blaine, he is not ready to go too far yet.

It's a Sunday afternoon, and Kurt has spent the day at Dalton with Blaine, Wes, and David. But Wes and David had something else to do, and now it's just Kurt and Blaine alone in Blaine's dorm room, sitting on Blaine's bed, lips pressed against lips, tongues exploring, hands on necks and fingers tangled in hair, pulling apart briefly only to come up for a breath and then dive right back in. This is as far as they've gone so far, and Kurt is happy with that. He loves this, and he sometimes thinks about what it might be like to go a bit farther with Blaine, but he's comfortable with this.

Blaine's lips leave Kurt's, and Kurt is about to object but the words are cut off by his own surprised moan as Blaine's lips reattach, this time on his neck, and _oh_. Blaine sucks lightly and swirls his tongue against Kurt's neck, whimpering softly as his lips move against skin, and this is a whole new feeling that Kurt is definitely okay with. And then hands are pushing him back, down onto the bed, and Blaine is on top of him, hovering over him, and he pulls his mouth away from Kurt's neck and then they're staring back at each other. Kurt reaches up and pulls Blaine's face down to meet his, locking their lips together in a searing kiss and they're both moaning lowly into each others' mouths and this is definitely the most heated they've ever been but Kurt is so okay with it.

Blaine is holding himself above Kurt, one arm alongside Kurt's head propping him up as the other is in his hair, then on his neck, then exploring his chest, tweaking a nipple through his shirt and Kurt moans, bucking up into Blaine and he feels their hardening cocks brush against each other through their pants and then they're both moaning.

"Shit, Kurt, you feel so good," Blaine mumbles, then his lips are back on Kurt's and his hand is wandering down, further down, cupping Kurt through his pants and it feels good but then all he can think of is who else's hand has been there and no, he can't do this, he's not ready for this, it's too much, it needs to stop.

Kurt tries to pull back from Blaine's kiss, but Blaine has him pinned to the bed and there's not really any room to pull back. He tries to speak into the kiss instead, a jumbled "Blaine, stop," but Blaine must not have made out what he's saying because Blaine's hand is just groping him more now. He squirms, trying to move away, but Blaine just deepens the kiss, and this is _too much_ and then Kurt is shoving Blaine off of him, hard, and Blaine tumbles onto the floor with a loud thud.

As soon as Blaine is off him, Kurt is sitting up, scooting backward on the bed, back against the headboard. Eyes wide, trying to control his breathing, staring down at his boyfriend on the floor.

"What the hell, Kurt, I-" Blaine starts, standing up, but when he finally looks at Kurt, really _looks_ , his tone changes, concern replacing the annoyance in his words. "Kurt, what's wrong?" Blaine gets back on the bed, crawling over to Kurt, resting a hand on his shoulder, but then he flinches away from the contact and Blaine pulls back. "Sorry, I..."

Kurt looks down at the bed, ashamed. Blaine doesn't know what happened with Karofsky, _nobody_ knows what happened with Karofsky, and why is it all coming back now? This is _Blaine_. Blaine, his boyfriend, who would never hurt him. He'd already let a stupid bully from his old high school touch him like that, and now he was letting it get in the way of _this_? He feels the tears prickling his eyes and tries to blink them away before they can fall.

Blaine settles back on his heels on the bed, putting some distance between himself and Kurt, and then, softly, tentatively, "... Kurt?"

Kurt looks up at the ceiling, blinking hard, and wipes at a stray tear as it falls down his cheek. "Sorry, I just..." he starts, but then trails off.

He just... what? Just thought about his old bully while he was making out with his boyfriend? Just shoved his boyfriend off him onto the floor for no good reason? Neither of those seem like great options to tell the boy staring at him, eyes full of concern.

"It's okay, Kurt, just... talk to me. Please?" Blaine pleads, actually _pleads_ , and Kurt isn't sure he really wants to talk about this, but Blaine deserves it, and if Blaine wants to leave him for it, well... That's Blaine's choice, and Kurt will respect it. And maybe it will help, to talk about it, to share what happened with someone else; and if there's anyone he trusts to talk about this with, it's Blaine.

"I uh... It's just... Do you remember the night I called you? Before we were together. And I came over and I was crying and..." he trails off, but Blaine nods, encouraging him to continue.

Kurt takes in a deep, steadying breath, then continues. "I was upset because um... I was... I confronted Karofsky. I followed him into the locker room, and I yelled at him, and we were alone and he uh... he pushed me up against the lockers, and he put his hand... he put his hand in my... in my pants, there, and I just felt... I couldn't, I-" Kurt cuts himself off with a sob, and Blaine stays where he is, awkwardly, seemingly not sure if he should give Kurt space or wrap him up in his arms, but Kurt is grateful for the space.

Kurt manages to get the sobs under control and then he starts speaking again. "I um... I got away from him then, but if I didn't, I don't... I don't know if he would have-" he cuts himself off with another sob.

This time he can't get them under control, and Blaine seems to have decided he's had enough space because now Blaine's arms are wrapped around him, strong and firm and warm, comforting, and it helps a bit but Kurt is still shaking with the sobs that are coming from him as Blaine whispers quiet reassurances into his ear. They sit there together for a long time, until eventually the tears subside, and only quiet sniffles remain as Kurt gets his breathing under control.

"Kurt, I didn't know, I... I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Kurt says, because really isn't not, it's _his_ fault, and he tries to give Blaine a smile but he knows he doesn't really succeed.

"I know, I'm just sorry that happened to you. You don't deserve that," Blaine says, running a soothing hand against Kurt's hair, and Kurt might swat the hand away and scold Blaine for ruining his hair if he wasn't sure that it was already a mess.

Blaine pulls away a little, brings a hand to Kurt's cheek, turns Kurt's face so they're looking into each other's eyes. "I promise I won't do anything you're not comfortable with. Okay, Kurt? I won't do anything until you say it's okay. As slow as you want."

Kurt tries a smile again, and he thinks he succeeds a bit more this time, because Blaine gives him a soft smile back. "Thank you."

They stay like that, curled up in each other on the bed, for a while longer, until finally it's getting late and Kurt needs to get home before his dad starts to worry. They exchange sweet kisses as Kurt leaves, and as he drives home he feels lighter, and he's glad that finally someone else _knows_.


	17. Chapter 17

"I can't believe I let you drag me out here," Kurt huffs as he pushes a branch out of his way, following Blaine along the narrow trail through the woods. It's a beautiful day, the warmest yet this spring, and Blaine had insisted on going for a hike. Kurt does _not_ do hikes, so he isn't sure why he agreed, but it must have had something to do with the warm, brown, pleading puppy-dog eyes Blaine had given him, because he had agreed, and now they're wandering through a forest, hiking up a too-steep path, and Kurt is never doing this again.

"You must really like me," Blaine replies, and Kurt can't see his face but he can hear the smug tone in Blaine's voice, and he can't help but roll his eyes.

"Remind me why that is?" Kurt teases.

"Well, I have a great voice, fantastic hair, and I put up with all of your whining," Blaine teases back as they make their way into an opening at the end of the path, and it seems like they've reached the top because the view is breathtaking. Blaine grabs Kurt's hand and pulls him forward, up to a small look-off point with a railing. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is," Kurt agrees, and he'll never admit it to Blaine but _maybe_ the hike was worth this view.

They stand there in silence as they admire the view, or at least Kurt thinks that's what they're doing until he turns to look at Blaine and finds his boyfriend staring back at him, a fond smile on his face.

"What?" Kurt asks with a small chuckle.

Blaine is quiet for a moment, and then, "I love you."

Kurt's heart skips a beat at the words. They're never said those words to each other before, but Kurt knows he feels it, too. He's not quite sure when it became love, but he knows it is, and he's pretty sure these are the most beautiful words to ever leave Blaine's lips.

"I love you, too," he says simply.

When he'd imaging this moment before, even before Blaine, he always imagined something incredibly romantic. A candlelit dinner, a big gesture, lots of dramatics. But this was understated and simple and _perfect_.

Blaine leans forward and presses his lips against Kurt's, soft and sweet, and then he pulls back and takes Kurt's hand again.

"Come on, we're not at the top yet," Blaine says, gesturing further up the path toward another opening in the tree line.

Kurt rolls his eyes playfully. "Of course we're not," he says with a smirk, but he follows along as Blaine leads him by the hand toward the forest, and he thinks that maybe hiking isn't so bad after all.

* * *

Kurt is backstage with Blaine at the Dalton Academy auditorium. Blaine applied to NYADA, and he got an audition, and that audition is today, and now Robert Dowry, the Dean of Vocal Performance and Song Interpretation, is here to decide whether or not his boyfriend is good enough for the prestigious school. He smoothes down the lapel on Blaine's blazer and gives him a fond smile.

"You're going to be great, Bee."

"I hope so," Blaine responds, fidgeting nervously with the edge of his sleeve.

"Stop that," Kurt scolds softly, taking Blaine's hands into his own. "You are going to be wonderful, Robert Dowry is going to be blown away by your unmistakable talent, and you are going to get in."

Blaine gives him a warm smile. "You think so?"

"I know so," Kurt insists. "Now, I have to go sit in the audience and watch my amazing boyfriend nail his NYADA audition," he says with a smirk, dropping Blaine's hands.

Blaine laughs. "Thanks, Kurt. I'll see you after?"

"Of course," Kurt says, and then leans forward to plant a sweet kiss on Blaine's lips. "I love you. Break a leg."

"I love you, too."

Those words will never get old.

Kurt makes his way into the audience and takes his seat next to David and Wes, as well as some of the other Warblers who have come to support Blaine.

"How is he?" David asks.

"A little nervous, but nothing too bad. He'll do great," Kurt replies.

"What did he decide on?" Wes asks, leaning across David.

"He wouldn't tell me," Kurt says with a shrug. Blaine had, inexplicably, decided to keep his audition song a secret from _everyone_ , and somehow he'd succeeded. Kurt had expected him to cave at some point, but to Blaine's credit, he hadn't. The curiosity has been absolutely killing him.

"Blaine Anderson?" a voice calls out, and this is it.

Slowly, the stage curtains reveal a lone piano on the stage, Blaine sitting on the bench in front of it. "Hello, Mr. Dowry, my name is Blaine Anderson and I will be performing 'What a Catch, Donnie' by Fall Out Boy."

And then Blaine is singing, playing, the rich notes ringing out across the auditorium. He'd been expecting something from Broadway or Katy Perry or something else, not _this_ , but it's beautiful and Kurt is mesmerized by the boy on the stage, singing and playing his heart out. Blaine really is an amazing performer, the emotion in the performance so clear, and Kurt's heart skips every time their eyes meet.

As Blaine plays the final notes and they resonate through the auditorium, everyone is silent. He had asked in advance for them not to applaud; Kurt told him that was silly, but Blaine insisted, so everyone agreed. Blaine stands, walks around the piano to the front of the stage, clutches his hands behind his back.

"Thank you, Blaine," Mr. Dowry says simply.

"Thank you for your time," Blaine replies, gives a shallow bow, and then walks off the stage.

Kurt stands, then and makes his way backstage again, followed closely by Wes and David. He spots Blaine first, and runs up to him, enveloping Blaine in a hug.

"You were amazing, Bee."

"Thanks, love," Blaine says, and when Kurt lets go they're beaming at each other.

"Great job, Blaine. You killed it," David adds, clapping a hand down on Blaine's shoulder.

"The way you were going on I figured you were doing Katy Perry. I'm shocked," Wes adds with a smirk.

Blaine rolls his eyes. "Whatever. I just didn't want you all trying to talk me out of it."

"I would have tried," Wes says, "but I'm glad I didn't. You did great."

"Thanks, guys," Blaine says, shooting a warm smile at the group.

"So, how are we celebrating? Pizza?" Wes asks, slinging an arm around Blaine's shoulders, and the group of them head out of the auditorium, Kurt realizing, _really_ realizing, for the first time, that in a matter of months, even if it's not for NYADA, Blaine will be leaving, and he'll miss this. He pushes the thought out of his mind; today is about celebrating his amazing boyfriend.


	18. Chapter 18

Kurt and Blaine are sitting on Kurt's bed, door open as always, watching a movie that neither of them are really paying attention to. Kurt is wrapped up in Blaine's arms, Blaine's face buried in the side of his neck, and they're not really even _doing_ anything except just enjoying the feel of each other, real and solid and _there_.

"I told my parents," Blaine says into Kurt's neck.

Blaine never talks about his parents, never even mentions them, so Kurt is confused. "Told them what?"

"About us."

They're silent for a moment; Kurt isn't really sure what to say. He knows that Blaine's family isn't exactly accepting, and he's never blamed Blaine for not telling them about him. And he'd never asked Blaine to tell them, they'd never had a discussion about Blaine telling them, so he's a little surprised that Blaine did it.

"What did they say?"

"My mom didn't say anything."

A few more moments of silence.

"And your dad?"

"... He, uh... he had some things to say about it. He wasn't happy."

"What did he say?"

"He um. He told me that I'm a disappointment. And a disgrace to my family."

"Oh Bee," Kurt says, shifting from Blaine's hold and wrapping his own arms around his boyfriend. "You're none of those things. You're amazing. They should be so proud of you."

"He said, ' _I thought you'd grow out of it by now, but it turns out you really are just a fucking faggot after all'_ ," Blaine whispers.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," Kurt says, squeezing the boy in his arms tighter, because really what else can he say? It baffles him to no end that Blaine's parents see anything other than a beautiful, amazing, talented young man when they look at their son.

"And my mom just sat there and said _nothing_ while my dad yelled at me, and I just; I _hate_ it, so much." Kurt hears the hitch in Blaine's breath, the waver in his words, and he can tell that his boyfriends is crying now.

"Hey, look at me," Kurt says, and he turns Blaine's face up to look at him, wiping a stray tear from Blaine's cheek. "You are none of the things your father said to you. You are the farthest thing from a disappointment or a disgrace, Blaine. You are amazingly talented and you have such a big heart and if your parents can't see that then _they're_ the ones with the issue here, not you."

"Thanks Kurt, I just... it's hard, you know?"

"I know Bee. But soon you'll get your acceptance letter from NYADA, and you'll be off to New York, and you'll never have to see them again if you don't want to."

"I don't want to never seem them again, though, I just want them to accept me," Blaine says, curling further into Kurt.

Kurt doesn't really know what to say to that. He's faced a lot of homophobia in his life, but it's always been from people he doesn't have any attachment to. Knowing that what they thought of him didn't matter helped him deal with it. He has no idea what it was like to deal with that kind of hate from your own family. He knows how lucky he is that his father has accepted him so easily, and of course there have been hiccups here and there, but his father _tries_ , and Kurt will be forever grateful for that.

"I'm sorry," he says simply, and he hopes that's enough.

* * *

It's Mother's Day, which is one of Kurt's least favourite days in the entire year, together with August 12th and October 27th. The only thing he's glad for is that at least Mother's Day is always on a Sunday; he doesn't have to go out and see anyone he doesn't want to.

Kurt and his father visit his mother's grave three times a year; on mother's day, on her birthday, and on the anniversary of her death. It's a tradition they've stuck to every year since her death, and while it's always hard, Kurt always feels a little better afterward. Even though he knows, logically, his mother doesn't know he's there, can't hear him talking to her grave, it brings him some peace.

They pull into the graveyard, and silently get out of the car. They've haven't spoken since they left the house, and they both prefer it that way. There are so many things about Kurt that his mother would just _get_ that his father doesn't, but this is one way that he takes after his father. Neither of them like to talk about their feelings, they need to be alone with them, and Kurt is so thankful for that. They walk together through the graveyard, making their way to her grave. They've both been here many times before, and find it easily.

Burt steps forward first, kneeling down beside the dark stone engraved with " _Elizabeth Hummel_ " as Kurt stands back and watches. Burt doesn't speak, he never does, just kneels there with a hand on the gravestone. He stays like that for several minutes before, still silently, standing and walking back toward Kurt.

"I'll be in the car, Kurt," he says as he passes, and then he's gone, leaving Kurt standing alone in front of his mother's grave.

Kurt approaches, and sits on the grass by her headstone. He lays a hand on the cold stone.

"Hi, mom," he says, barely a whisper, "happy mother's day."

He's quiet for a moment, blinking back tears, before he continues.

"I, um, I have a boyfriend now. His name is Blaine... You'd really like him, I think. He's good to me." He pauses, sniffles a bit. "I wish you were here to meet him."

Kurt wipes at a tear that escapes down his cheek.

"I miss you so much, mom," he says, and he doesn't even try to stop the tears now. "I miss you every day."

He leans his head forward, resting it against the headstone. He stays there, unmoving, until finally the tears stop. He takes in a deep breath, and pulls his head back, resting a hand on the stone again.

"I love you, mom," he says, voice shaky.

He sits there quietly for a few more moments before, finally, he stands and makes his way back to the car.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those of you have been sticking around and reading as I post! And also thank you to anyone new who has just stumbled upon this fic and has read up to this point. I really appreciate each and every one of you, and I've been really enjoying hearing your thoughts so far!
> 
> This entire chapter is shameless smut. If you don't want to read that, it's not necessary for the plot so feel free to skip it. If you do want to read that, well, here you go.

Kurt and Blaine are enjoying an afternoon of movies snuggled up together on Blaine's bed. They've been taking turns choosing movies to watch, and the credits of Blaine's most recent choice, The Little Mermaid, are just starting to roll.

"Your turn," Blaine mumbles into Kurt's hair, but he doesn't release Kurt from his hold, keeping his chest pressed firmly against Kurt's back. Not that Kurt is complaining; he's perfectly content to stay in these arms forever.

Kurt hums happily. "I might be all movied out."

"Oh, alright. Something else you want to do then?" Blaine asks, sounding a little more alert.

"I might have something in mind," Kurt says, and he squirms in Blaine's arms, turning to face is boyfriend, eyes flickering down to Blaine's lips and then back up to his beautiful brown eyes.

"And what might that be?" Blaine teases, and Kurt sees Blaine's eyes drift down to his own lips.

"This," Kurt says, and then he's closing the small distance between them and kissing Blaine.

Blaine hums happily into the kiss, and when Kurt runs his tongue along Blaine's bottom lip, Blaine opens his mouth and lets Kurt deepen the kiss, tongues swirling together. Kurt's not usually this assertive, this _forward_ , when it comes to this kind of thing, but he just really wants his boyfriend right now. Since the episode where Kurt pushed Blaine off the bed, they've been taking things slow, but they've still been progressing bit by bit, at Kurt's pace, and he's been finding himself wanting more.

Kurt rolls them over, positioning himself over Blaine, and grinds his hips down into Blaine, eliciting a moan from both of them. This is one thing they've found makes things easier for Kurt; he's much more comfortable when he's on top of Blaine. He feels more in control, more able to stop things if he needs to. Not that he's needed to since that time, but he needs to know that he _could_.

Kurt pulls away from Blaine, breaking the kiss, and Blaine whines at the loss. "Shirt. Off." Kurt says simply, reaching down and tugging up at the hem of his boyfriend's shirt.

"Yeah," Blaine agrees breathlessly, and he's pulling his shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the side and onto the floor.

"Your blatant disregard for clothes baffles me, Blaine Anderson," Kurt teases.

"There are more important things at the moment," Blaine replies, tugging at the bottom of Kurt's shirt and looking at him expectantly. Kurt chuckles, stands, and pulls his shirt off his head as he walks over to Blaine's dresser, folding the shirt neatly and placing it on top.

"Like what?" Kurt asks as he walks back over to the bed and climbs back on top of Blaine.

"Like kissing my boyfriend," Blaine says, pulling Kurt back down and pressing their lips together in a searing kiss.

Kurt pulls back, smirking. "I guess I can give you a pass for that," he says, and then his lips are on Blaine's neck, and his boyfriend lets out a low groan.

Kurt sucks at Blaine's neck, tongue swirling, biting lightly. Then he's moving down, kissing Blaine's collarbones, and down further, sucking a nipple into his mouth and rolling the other between his fingers and Blaine is really squirming now, moaning and bucking his hips up and it's _hot_.

"Kurt, oh my god," Blaine gasps, breathless.

Kurt smiles to himself as he takes the other nipple into his mouth, sucking, his boyfriend beneath him panting and moaning and Kurt just _wants him_. He continues down Blaine's chest and stomach, kissing, licking, sucking as he goes, until he's just above the waist of Blaine's pants, and he cups Blaine through them, eliciting a high pitched moan from the other boy.

Kurt pauses for a moment, looks up at Blaine, waits. A moment passes before Blaine realizes, and then he's looking down at Kurt, trying to get his breathing under control.

"Kurt, are you... is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I just... I want you, Blaine."

Blaine stares back at Kurt, as though not quite sure what Kurt is saying, so Kurt figures he'll make it a little more clear. He gropes at Blaine through his pants again, and Blaine throws his head back and moans.

"Can I?"

"Yes. Yes, Kurt, please, _please_ ," Blaine practically begs, and _that_ is hot, and then Kurt's hands are on Blaine's belt, shaking a little as he undoes the buckle because they've never _done this_ before, but Kurt is ready, he wants this, he _needs_ this.

Kurt undoes Blaine's belt, and then Blaine is lifting his hips and Kurt is pulling his pants and underwear down past his hips and then Blaine's hard cock is _there_ , bouncing back onto his stomach, wet with pre-come at the tip, and this is it. Kurt pauses for a moment, staring at it, until Blaine speaks, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Kurt? Are you okay? We don't have to do this," Blaine tries, and Kurt looks up to see Blaine looking down at him, worry in his eyes.

"No, I'm fine, it's... yeah. I'm good," Kurt reassures.

"Okay," Blaine says, and then his head is falling back into the pillows as he moans while Kurt reaches out, wraps a hand around Blaine's cock, and gives it a tentative stroke.

Kurt gives a few more slow strokes as Blaine squirms and moans under him, and then he leans down and circles his tongue around the head.

"Fuck, Kurt! Feels so good."

Kurt smiles to himself, pleased that he's able to get such a reaction out of Blaine. Then he's taking Blaine into his mouth, closing his lips around Blaine's length and sucking lightly, and the sounds coming out of Blaine's mouth are absolutely _obscene_ but they're so, so hot and Kurt had never really considered that doing this to someone else could make him so hard, but he is, he's so hard it's almost painful. He grinds his clothed erection into Blaine's leg, groans around Blaine's cock, and that must do something for Blaine too because Blaine is squirming even more underneath him.

Kurt finds a steady rhythm, lips wrapped around Blaine's cock, head bobbing up and down, hand wrapped around and stroking the length that he can't fit in his mouth. And it seems to be working for Blaine because his moans are getting progressively louder and more frequent, and Kurt can tell he's trying really hard not to buck his hips up while Kurt's mouth is on him.

"Kurt, wait, stop," Blaine says, breathless and urgent, and Kurt stops, sits up, stares back at Blaine.

"What? Did I... did I do something wrong?" He'd thought everything was going well. Blaine seemed into it, _he_ was so into it... what happened?

"I was, uh... I was going to..." Blaine trails off.

Kurt actually laughs. "Isn't that kind of the point, Blaine?" he asks, quirking an eyebrow.

"I guess so, I just wasn't sure if... that was okay?"

How did he get so lucky to find Blaine, this perfect boy? Kurt smiles warmly at him, reaches up, strokes a thumb over Blaine's soft cheek. "It's okay."

"Okay." Blaine says, smiling back, and then Kurt is back down, mouth on Blaine, picking up his rhythm again until Blaine is shooting into his mouth, and it tastes salty and a little weird, but not _bad_.

He continues stroking, slowly, working Blaine through his orgasm until Blaine reaches down and pulls Kurt up, bringing their lips together, and he wonders if Blaine can taste himself on Kurt's tongue, and that's a wonderful thought that reminds Kurt how hard and needy he still is. They kiss slowly, tasting each other, while Blaine comes down, and then Blaine pulls back and they're staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you so much," Blaine says, a satisfied smile on his face.

"I love you, too," Kurt smiles back.

"Now," Blaine starts, and he shifts under Kurt until Kurt moves off him and then Blaine sits up, faces Kurt, puts one hand on his cheeks, brings his lips to Kurt's ear, and brings the other hand down to the front of Kurt's jeans, groping at him, and Kurt moans. "Let me return the favour?" he whispers seductively in Kurt's ear.

"Yeah. Yes. Please," Kurt agrees, and then Blaine is pushing him back onto the bed and he's already at Kurt's belt, undoing the buckle, and Kurt is glad because he doesn't think he has it in him to endure any teasing. He needs this.

Kurt lifts his hips as Blaine slides his pants and underwear down, and then Blaine's mouth is on him and why have they never done this before, because it feels _amazing_. Blaine's tongue swirls around the head of Kurt's cocks as he sucks and slowly pumps his hand up and down at the base and Kurt lets out a high-pitched moan, bucking his hips up and he did _not_ mean to do that but Blaine doesn't say anything, just moves his hands to hold Kurt's hips in place and takes Kurt even further into his mouth, hollowing his cheeks as he bobs up and down and Kurt can feel the heat building, can feel himself getting closer to the edge.

"Blaine, Blaine, oh god, Blaine," Kurt repeats, like a mantra, as his boyfriend increases the pace, and it's so overwhelming, he feels it everywhere from his toes to the tips of his fingers. "Blaine, Blaine, I'm gonna-" he starts, but then it's too late and he's moaning, shooting into his boyfriend's mouth and Blaine works him through it slowly, hands still holding his hips firmly to the bed, and thank god for that because Kurt doesn't think he could have stopped from bucking up into Blaine's mouth at that.

When he starts to squirm from the oversensitivity, Blaine lets Kurt's length fall from his mouth, crawls up the bed and lays beside Kurt, smiling warmly. "You are amazing."

"I love you," Kurt replies, then leans forward and gives Blaine a sweet kiss, and he can taste himself on Blaine's lips, which should probably be gross but he doesn't think it is, at all. Kurt pulls back and smiles at Blaine, and then Blaine is wrapping Kurt in his arms, holding him tight and firm and warm and Kurt could just get lost in how perfect the moment is.

"I love you so much," Blaine whispers into his hair.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright friends, this is your official warning that we're starting to get into some not-so-Blaine-friendly territory. It's been tagged from the beginning, so this should be no surprise, but I still wanted to give you a warning. This is your final chance to turn back.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

"It's about time," Wes scolds as Kurt enters Blaine's dorm room.

Wes and David are standing around the room, and Blaine is sitting on his bed, an envelope in his hands. His letter from NYADA. He had texted the three of them when he found it in his mail slot because he didn't want to open it without them there.

"Sorry, Ms. Watts asked to talk to me after class," Kurt says, trying to catch his breath; he practically ran here once she'd finally let him leave. "I'm here now."

"Okay Blaine, you can open it now. We're all here," David says.

"Okay. Alright," Blaine says, but he doesn't move to open the letter.

"Bee," Kurt says, walking over and sitting beside him on the bed, "you have to open it."

"What if I didn't get in?" Blaine asks, eyes wide and Kurt's heart breaks at the insecurity there.

How could this beautiful, amazing, talented boy ever doubt himself like this? But that's not what Blaine needed to hear right now. Kurt has made that point enough times already.

"You will, but even if you don't, we'll all still love you. I'll still love you. You'll find somewhere else to go that recognizes how talented you are," Kurt reassures, cradling Blaine's face in his hands.

Blaine smiles back at him. "How do you always know the right things to say, love?"

"Because he's perfect, now that that's settled, open the letter, Blaine," Wes says, rolling his eyes, but smirking at them.

"Right, okay," Blaine says, taking in a deep breath and looking down at the envelope in his hands.

"You've got this, Bee," Kurt says, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.

David hands Blaine a letter opener from his desk, and Blaine slides it into the envelope carefully and tears it open. He places the letter opener beside him on the bed, pulls the folded letter out, then places the empty envelope down as well, clutching the folded letter in his hands. Kurt smiles, kisses his cheek, hopes that's reassuring enough.

Blaine takes in another deep breath, then he's unfolding the letter, scanning quickly through the words. And Kurt is too, he's right beside Blaine and he can just as clearly see what Blaine is reading.

"I got in," Blaine says, smile slowly spreading across his face.

"You got in," Kurt affirms.

"I got in. I got in!" Blaine says, and then he turns and kisses Kurt, full on the lips but brief, and then he's standing and hugging Wes and David as they congratulate him and clap him on the back for a job well done.

And that's when it hits Kurt. Really hits him, that this is it. He has a few more months of Blaine, and then Blaine will really be gone, gone to New York and living his new life and meeting new people, and that's going to be so _hard_. But they can get through it, he's sure. They have to. They love each other. They'll make it work. He pushes the feelings back down and stands to join the boys, who are currently in the middle of a group hug, and they welcome him into it.

* * *

Kurt got permission to stay out later than usual tonight. It's a Friday, and Blaine was just accepted to NYADA, so they're celebrating. His dad told the boys to have a good time, and Kurt should be back before midnight but to not worry about his usual curfew.

They were all celebrating, the four of them. They ordered some pizza, as was typical of anything they celebrated. And then they'd just hung out, talked about all the cool things Blaine would get to do in New York, how great it would be to get out of middle-of-nowhere Ohio. Wes had been accepted to NYU, so they were talking about the possibility of sharing an apartment, Wes' enthusiasm unhampered by Blaine's mock dismay at the idea. Overall, Kurt thinks he's been doing a pretty great job of pushing down his fears of being left alone in Lima in favour of celebrating his boyfriend and being happy for Blaine's success and what he has to look forward to.

Blaine had dropped a couple hints about wanting some time alone with Kurt, and eventually, the other boys seemed to pick up on it.

"Hey Wes, didn't we have that thing soon?" David asks.

"What thing?" Wes asks back.

"You know, that _thing_ ," David insists, rolling his eyes and not clarifying at all.

Kurt manages to hold in a laugh; David is great, but he's not the best at excuses.

"Oh," Wes says, mock realization flashing across his face, voice innocent, "you mean that pretend thing we're going to do so that Blaine and Kurt can get it on?"

"Wes!" Blaine scolds, and Kurt feels his face heat up.

Of course their friends know that they _do stuff_ together, but it's still weird when it's acknowledged, and it's _especially_ weird to have Wes and David leave specifically so that can happen.

David rolls his eyes again. "Yes, Wes, that thing, thank you for the subtlety. Come on," David grabs Wes' arm and pulls him toward the door, "we'll see you guys later."

"Have fun," Wes calls back with a wink, and then David is pushing him through the door and closing it behind them and it's just Kurt and Blaine.

Blaine turns to look at Kurt, and Kurt knows the look in his eyes. "So, what time did you say you had to be home again?"

"Not until midnight."

Blaine leans forward and kisses Kurt lightly before pulling back. "That's quite a while away. What can we do with all that time?"

"I'm not sure, maybe I should just head home now," Kurt teases, standing and taking a few steps toward the door.

"You wouldn't," Blaine says, mock horror in his voice as he gets up to follow after Kurt.

"Well, was there something you wanted to do?" Kurt asks innocently.

"I'm sure I can think of something," Blaine says, and then he's closing the distance between them, kissing Kurt, harder and deeper this time.

Blaine backs Kurt up into the wall, lips never leaving lips. They've been slowly easing Kurt into this more, the idea of Blaine being over or on top of him, and Kurt has been, slowly, getting more and more comfortable with it. It's easier when they're standing, even though that's closer to the position he was in with Karofsky, but it's easier to move away when he's not lying down. The memory barely even crosses his mind as Blaine slips his tongue into Kurt's mouth, swirling with his own tongue, nipping at his lower lip. Blaine's lips leave Kurt's as he brings them down to Kurt's neck, licking and sucking the spot he knows Kurt likes, and Kurt lets out a low moan at the feeling. Blaine reaches a hand behind Kurt, cupping his ass, and pulling it forward to grind their hips together.

Kurt whimpers, hums happily, as Blaine's lips leave his neck, breath ghosting across his cheek, against his ear, and then softly nipping at his ear, whispering, "I want you, Kurt."

"I want you too," Kurt says back, and rolls his hips forward into Blaine's.

"No Kurt, I mean... I want you. _All_ of you," Blaine says, and he doesn't pull back as he says it, still whispering seductively into Kurt's ear, but Kurt stiffens a little.

"Blaine, I don't... do you mean...?" Kurt thinks he knows what Blaine is asking for, and he's not ready, not for that, but he doesn't want to assume.

Blaine pulls back, finally, but stays close to Kurt, looks into his eyes. "I want to be inside you, Kurt."

"I'm not... Blaine, I don't think that... I'm not ready, for that, I don't think, I...," Kurt trails off.

"Come on, love. I just want to make you feel good," Blaine insists, leaning forward again and sucking on Kurt's neck, cupping him with a hand over the front of his jeans, and Kurt can't help but moan at the touch.

"Blaine, I'm don't know, I'm not-" Kurt tries again, but Blaine cuts him off.

"It will be so good for you, love, I promise," Blaine reassures, lips against Kurt's ear again as he moves his hands behind Kurt again, groping at his ass through his pants. "I'll make you feel so good. I just want to make you feel good."

"No, Blaine, _stop_ ," Kurt says, more firmly this time. Blaine is starting to scare Kurt; he's always been so good, so respectful, since that one time, and Kurt doesn't understand why he's being like this now.

Finally, Blaine pulls away again, takes a step back, and he looks almost _hurt_.

"Do you just not want me?" Blaine asks.

"Do I not... _Blaine_ , of _course_ I want you," Kurt says, shocked, because he thinks he's made that pretty obvious.

"I just... I don't get it." Blaine says simply.

"Don't get what?"

"You. This," Blaine says, as though that explains _anything_.

"I don't know what that means, Blaine," Kurt says, because really, _what is that supposed to mean_?

"I just... You're fine with all the other stuff. Not to be crude but, my dick has been in your mouth, Kurt, how many times now? I just... how is this different? I'll take care of you, I'll make it good, I promise. Is it just me? Do you just not want to do that with me?"

Kurt stares back at Blaine for a moment in shock, not really sure what to say, because this is the first time Blaine has ever even _mentioned_ not being happy with the pace Kurt has set. In fact, Blaine was the one insisting that Kurt set the pace in the first place.

"Blaine, I... I'm just not ready. I don't know. I thought... I thought that was okay. You said I could take me time, and I just..." Kurt trails off, not really sure what he's trying to say. "It's not about you. It has nothing to do with you."

"Of course, love, of course you can take your time, it's just... I've been so patient, and I thought that eventually you'd be ready, and I just... I can't help but feel like it's something wrong with me."

Kurt feels awful. Of course his boyfriend is upset. Blaine has been so patient with him, so careful and respectful and willing to do everything on Kurt's terms, and the one time Blaine asks for something Kurt says no? He guesses that he can't really blame Blaine for being upset at him.

"Blaine, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you... I _swear_ , Bee, that's not what this is," Kurt tries to explain.

"I just want you, so _bad_ , and it just feels like you... don't want me back."

"Of course I want you. God, Blaine, I... I'm so sorry," Kurt says, wrapping his boyfriend in his arms.

"It's fine," Blaine repeats, but it doesn't sound like he means it.

"Just... let me think about it, okay? Please?"

"Yeah. Okay," Blaine agrees.

They stand there in silence for a while, Blaine wrapped up in Kurt's arms, until finally Kurt speaks again.

"Maybe I should just go home now," Kurt whispers.

"Yeah, maybe," Blaine agrees.

"Okay. I um, I'll see you later," Kurt says, then he's picking up his coat and bag and opening the door. He turns to look at Blaine, watching him leave. "I love you."

"Love you, too," Blaine responds, and he just looks and sounds so _sad_ , and then Kurt is closing the door and making his way to his car, trying to figure out what's wrong with him and why he can't give this to his boyfriend.

* * *

It's Saturday and Kurt has called an emergency meeting with the girls. They had all agreed to meet at Rachel's house, and now Rachel, Mercedes, Tina, and Kurt are all gathered in Rachel's room.

"Alright boy, spill. What's going on?" Mercedes asks, and the others all direct their focus to him.

"Blaine got his NYADA letter yesterday," Kurt starts, "and he got in."

"Kurt, that's amazing!" Tina exclaims.

"And now you're worried that he'll move to New York, leave you, and never look back?" Rachel asks, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Rachel!" Mercedes scolds, smacking her lightly on the arm.

"What? I wouldn't blame him, really, I mean it's _New York_!" Rachel insists.

"Not helpful, Rachel," Tina says, shooting her a glare. Then, eyes directed back at Kurt, much softer, "Kurt, that sounds like a good thing, so... why the emergency meeting?"

Kurt sighs. Rachel isn't _entirely_ wrong. He is a little worried about Blaine forgetting about him in New York. Not that he would admit that to Rachel of all people; he loves her, but there are some things you just shouldn't tell that girl. Regardless, that's not the reason he wanted to talk to them today.

"Blaine loves me, Rachel, he's not going to leave me," he scoffs, hoping that he sounds as sure of himself as he's trying to. "I stayed late, to celebrate with him and Wes and David. And then Wes and David left and we were... you know."

"Did you call an emergency meeting just to tell us you had sex with your boyfriend, Kurt?" Mercedes asks, and her voice sounds annoyed but her face says that she's teasing.

"No, I didn't, that's the thing," Kurt tries to explain, "we didn't, but I... he wanted to. And I didn't, and he..."

"Did he try to force you, Kurt?" Tina asks softly.

"No, not really, I mean he stopped when I told him to, I just... he was upset. He just said that he's been so patient, and he didn't get it, and he's worried that there's something wrong with him."

"Well it has been a while, Kurt, can you really blame him?" Rachel chimes in.

" _Rachel_!" Mercedes and Tina scold simultaneously.

"What?! Of course if he forced you that would be awful, but he didn't. You've been together for a while now, quite frankly I can't say I blame him for being a little upset. Boys like sex. I'm surprised he's waited this long to say something," Rachel explains.

She says it as though it's the simplest thing in the world, and maybe it is? She has a point. They have been together for a while now, and Blaine has been really, really patient, and he _did_ stop when Kurt asked... Why is Kurt making such a big deal out of nothing?

"I guess you're right, Rach, I don't know why I'm making this such a big thing," Kurt says, trying to brush it off.

"Don't listen to her, Kurt," Mercedes jumps in.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, and he shouldn't make you feel bad for that," Tina chimes in.

"I guess, but... he's allowed to have feelings. Maybe I'm just overreacting," Kurt reasons.

"Sure he is, but his feelings shouldn't make _you_ feel bad. You should talk to him about this, Kurt," Mercedes says.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to make you feel bad," Rachel adds with a small smile. "Talk to him and this will all be sorted out in no time."

"You're right, you're right. I just need to talk to him. Thanks, girls," Kurt says, offering small smile of his own in return. He just needs to talk to Blaine. That will make everything better.


	21. Chapter 21

It was Blaine, not Kurt, who asked first if they could have a conversation about what had happened between them on Friday. Kurt had of course agreed, and now the two boys are sitting in Kurt's bedroom, door open as per his father's rules, ready to talk about it.

Kurt sits on his bed, legs crossed, and stares across at Blaine sitting at the foot of his bed. They're quiet for a moment, not sure what to say or who should start, until Blaine finally breaks the silence.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. I know you're not ready, for that, and I shouldn't have pushed you," he says simply, and Kurt can see the sincerity in his eyes.

Kurt gives him a tentative smile, and he feels some of the tension leaving his body at Blaine's words. "Thank you, Blaine, it's okay, I just... It surprised me. Because you've never been like that about... you know. You've been so patient with me, I know, and I appreciate it, really I do, but I just... I'm not."

"I know, love, it's okay," Blaine says, leaning forward and taking Kurt's hands in his own. "I know you have some issue with that, I know it's not me. I love you, Kurt, and I will wait as long as you need to be comfortable. I promise."

"I- yeah, I know, I'm sorry, I just-" Kurt starts, but Blaine cuts him off.

"No it's okay, you don't have to apologize, love. Come here," he says, opening his arms and inviting Kurt into them.

Kurt welcomes the embrace, snuggling into Blaine and letting his boyfriend wrap strong, comforting arms around him. "I love you, Bee."

"I love you, too," Blaine replies.

They sit there for a while in silence, Kurt wrapped in Blaine's arms. Kurt is lucky, he thinks. Blaine has a point; Kurt _does_ have some issues with intimacy, and he's getting better, but clearly it's still a problem for him. Blaine is willing to wait, but how many other guys would? He's thankful that his boyfriend is so understanding... but that can only last for so long, right? He needs to sort his feelings out, and soon.

"Do you want to watch Phantom again?" Blaine asks, giving him a little squeeze and pulling him out of his thoughts.

Kurt smiles. "Yeah, that sounds nice," he says, "I'll go get it."

He extracts himself from his boyfriend's arms and wanders over to his bookcase to find the DVD, wonders what he did right to get Blaine in his life, and hopes that he isn't messing this up.

* * *

Things have been going well, Kurt thinks. Blaine hasn't been pushy about sex, just as promised, for which he's very thankful, though the thought still nags at the back of his mind that Blaine must be unhappy, and Kurt needs to just get over himself. Since Blaine got his acceptance letter from NYADA, the boys have spent a lot of time talking about Blaine going to New York; all of the places he needs to visit, the friends he'll make, how great NYADA will be, the chances of him running into any celebrities. One thing they haven't talked about, though, is _them_ , and it's making Kurt anxious because _he_ wants there to still be a them, but will Blaine want that when he's living in New York having the time of his life? There were sure to be so many more beautiful boys in the city who would surely be all over Blaine. Kurt wouldn't be surprised if Blaine would rather be with someone new; someone who might not be as much of a prude as he was. They'd talked about it when Blaine applied, sure, but now he was really going. What if things are different now? The thought has been nagging at the back of his head ever since he read that acceptance letter with Blaine, and try as he might to push the thoughts back down, they just kept coming back.

"Hey Kurt! Sorry I'm late, I got caught up looking at apartments with Wes. We found this really great one I think we're going to get! It's right between NYADA and NYU so neither of us will have a long commute, and there's enough room that we won't be right on top of each other all the time," Blaine tells Kurt excitedly, taking a seat across from him at their usual table at the Lima Bean.

Kurt smiles warmly at Blaine. "That's great, Bee! Do you have pictures?"

"Yeah, I'll show you," Blaine says, taking his phone out of his pocket and flicking his thumb across it a few times before turning it to Kurt to show him some photos. "This whole area is kind of the kitchen and living room combined, then this would be my bedroom, and this would be Wes', and this is the bathroom," Blaine explains as he flips through the photos.

"You're really going to New York," Kurt says, a little wistful, but Blaine doesn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, I really am," he says as he beams down at his phone, flipping through the apartment photos again.

"We haven't really... talked about that yet," Kurt tries.

Blaine looks up at him, confused. "What do you mean? We talk about it all the time."

"No, I don't mean that, I mean... Us. When you go to New York," he tries to explain further.

Blaine still looks confused, but it's less bewildered and more concerned now. "What do you mean 'us', Kurt? Do you... do you want to break up?"

Kurt's eyes widen at the words. "No! God, no! Of course not. I just... I was kind of scared that you would want to," he explains, looking down as he says it because he's kind of ashamed for even thinking it, but he needs the reassurance more.

"Kurt," Blaine says, reaching across the table and holding Kurt's hands in his. "Kurt, look at me," and Blaine waits until Kurt has brought his eyes up to meet Blaine's before he continues. "Of course I don't. I love you. We're going to be fine."

"Yeah, of course, you're right," Kurt says, trying to shrug it off and offering Blaine a small smile. "I'm just being silly, ignore me."

"Hey," Blaine says, holding Kurt's gaze with his own, "we'll be okay. Really. I promise. We'll talk every day, and we can have weekly Skype dates, and I'll be home for all the major holidays, and you will _definitely_ have to come up to New York to visit me."

Kurt smiles back, a little more genuinely now. "Yeah. You're right. That sounds really good, Blaine... I'm really happy for you. You're going to love it."

"Oh I know, I can't wait!" Blaine exclaims, and just like that they're off again, talking about the best way Blaine and Wes can use the space in their to-be New York apartment, and Kurt is feeling a little more like he isn't going to be completely losing his boyfriend to the big city in a matter of months.


	22. Chapter 22

Kurt takes his seat in the crowded auditorium next to Trent and several of the younger Warblers just as the lights are dimmed. He hasn't grown as close with them as he has with Blaine, Wes, and David, but they've all always been very welcoming to him, and he still counts them as friends, although he probably won't talk to many of them when he's back at McKinley next year.

The auditorium is warm and stuffy, but that's not surprising. Normally Kurt would complain, but not today, he doesn't feel anything but proud of his boyfriend for graduating and, in a couple months, finally being able to get out of small-town Ohio and experience New York City.

The principal walks to the centre of the stage and welcomes them all, droning on about the excellence that Dalton Academy produces, the impressive places the students from the graduating class will surely end up, and the prestigious legacy of the school. It's one thing that Kurt never really bought into during his time here; the school was great, of course, but he felt they had a tendency to talk themselves up a little too much at times. Then again, it is a fancy private school, so he supposes that's to be suspected. Eventually, the principal is calling Blaine to the stage to give his valedictorian speech.

Blaine makes his way to the centre of the stage, standing at the podium. He clears his throat, and then his voice is ringing out rich and clear across the auditorium as he thanks the principal for the introduction, and launches into a well-rehearsed speech about the graduating class' high school experience and the great things they're destined for after today. Kurt's heard it all before; he even helped Blaine edit it. It's a beautifully written speech, as far as Kurt is concerned, and he couldn't be more proud of his boyfriend than he is right now. The audience laughs at exactly the right moments, and Kurt is pretty sure he hears a couple sniffles out there as well.

"When I transferred to Dalton Academy in my sophomore year, I never expected to have as much of a connection with all of you as I do today. Everyone I've met has been so warm, kind, and welcoming, and I've never felt so at home as I have in my time here. We're often told that high school will be the best years of our lives. And these _have_ been the best years of my life, truly, and for that I thank you all so much. I know that you will all go on to do amazing things, and I can't wait to hear about them. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you all today, and congratulations again to the class of 2011!"

Blaine walks off the stage to applause as the principal returns to the spot in front of the podium. A few other guest are asked to speak and then, finally, the vice principal is called to the stage to hand out the diplomas, and Kurt leans forward a little in his seat, paying closer attention now.

"Michael Abbott, honours," the principal calls out, and a tall boy that Kurt faintly recognizes walks across the stage to accept his diploma, shaking hands with the vice principal and principal as he passes, before stepping off the stage at the other side.

"Keith Adams," and another boy makes his way across the stage, accepting his diploma and shaking hands.

Devin Adler, Amar Agarawal, Joshua Akerman. Kurt knows it will be Blaine's turn to walk across the stage soon.

"Leonard Allen, honours" the principal calls out, and a boy with blond hair and glasses makes his way over to accept his diploma.

"Blaine Anderson, honours with distinction," and Blaine steps onto the stage now, looking out at the audience as he makes his way toward the vice principal to accept his own diploma. When Blaine finds Kurt in the audience, their eyes lock, and a smile spreads across Blaine's face before he looks away to greet the man handing him the piece of paper that brings him one step closer to New York City.

The rest of the ceremony drags by, and Kurt spends most of it daydreaming about the summer that he and Blaine will get to spend together before Blaine heads off to NYADA. Eventually, the last student walks across the stage, and the principal is thanking everyone for their attendance and congratulating the class of 2011 a final time. Kurt doesn't really hear the words, just gets up and makes his way out of the auditorium to find Blaine.

He stands there for a while, watching the grads slowly filtering out. He sees David first and makes his way over to him.

"Congratulations!"

"Hey Kurt, thanks!" David says, giving him a quick hug.

"Do you know where Blaine is? I haven't seen him come out yet."

"Yeah, he was still in there, he should be out soon," David tell him. "I have to get going, though."

"Yeah, of course! I'll see you later."

David walks off with a wave, and Kurt directs his eyes back toward the door just in time to see Blaine walking through. Kurt heads toward Blaine, and when Blaine spots Kurt, a smile spreads across his face and he walks forward to meet Kurt. They meet in the middle, arms wrapping around each other, holding. Kurt plants a soft, sweet kiss on Blaine's lips before pulling his boyfriend closer.

"I'm so proud of you, Bee. And your speech was beautiful."

"I love you," Blaine says simply.

"I love you, too."

They stand there for a moment longer, in each other's arms, until Kurt hears a throat clear behind him. They pull apart, and Kurt turns to see Blaine's parents standing behind him.

"Blaine, we need to get going now, we don't want to keep your grandparents' waiting," his mother says, neither of his parents even looking at Kurt; although, given what Kurt knows about them, he thinks that might be for the best.

"Yeah, right," Blaine says, then turns to Kurt, "I'll um, see you later."

"Okay," Kurt says simply, and nods, and then he stands there as he watches Blaine walk away, trailing behind his parents.

* * *

It's the first time Kurt has ever come to Blaine's house. Anytime they hang out it's at Dalton, or at Kurt's house, or at one of their friends' houses, or somewhere out in public, but never at Blaine's house. Blaine never invites Kurt over, and Kurt never asks. Quite frankly, Kurt doesn't _want_ to spend any time here. They don't talk about why, but Kurt remembers Blaine's dad's reaction when he'd found out about their relationship. They don't need to talk about it.

But this is Blaine's graduation party, and all of the Warbler's will be here, and Blaine wants him here, and Kurt can't _not_ go. Blaine had insisted that his father won't make a scene, and Kurt trusts Blaine, of course he does, but he's still a little nervous about it.

It's a beautiful sunny Saturday, and as Kurt pulls onto Blaine's street and approaches the house, he can see the cars lined up on the side of the road. A lot of people have already arrived, and he's thankful for that. He pulls up to the curb, kills the engine, and takes a deep breath. This is it. His plan is to stick close to Wes and David. He knows that Blaine's parents like them, so he figures Blaine's dad probably won't risk being outright hostile to him if he sticks with Blaine's closest friends. Mercedes and Rachel are coming, too, so he'll have lots of friends to surround himself with. He steps out of the car, smoothes the wrinkles out of his shirt, and walks toward the house.

He rounds the corner to the backyard and pauses for a moment, taking everything in. Both the house and the property it sits on are beautiful; it's easy to see that the Anderson's have money. The yard is fenced in, with a large pool to one side where some younger kids are already splashing in the water. A large red banner with the word "CONGRATULATIONS" written across it in bold white lettering hangs from the patio which seems to be where all the food is situated; several tables full of a variety of hors d'oeurves are arranged around the perimeter. A beautiful flower garden sits against the fence across from the pool, bursts of blue, red, and yellow drawing the eye. Several clusters of lawn chairs are scattered throughout the yard, most occupied by groups of guests chatting happily as they sip their drinks and enjoy their appetizers. Kurt scans the crowd for someone he recognizes when he finally spots Blaine with Wes and David standing off to the side of the pool. He makes his way toward them, weaving around the other guests.

Blaine's back is to him, but Wes spots him before he reaches the group and waves. Kurt waves back as Blaine turns, and a smile breaks out across his face as he sees Kurt. Kurt finally reaches the group, and he gives each of the three boys a hug, holding on to Blaine a little longer than absolutely necessary; he knows better than to try to kiss Blaine in front of all these people, so it will have to do.

"I'm glad you could make it," Blaine says with a smile.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Kurt smiles back, and he means it.

As much as he hates the idea of being around Blaine's family, given what little he knows of them, he loves Blaine more. And if his boyfriend wants him to be here, then he wants to be here, too.

"Have any of the other Warblers stopped by yet?"

"Not yet," David answers, "but I'm sure some of them will come by later."

"Are any of your McKinley friends coming?" Blaine asks.

"Mercedes and Rachel should be here soon. Tina couldn't make it, but she said to send her congratulations to you."

"Well, tell her I say thank you," Blaine says with a warm smile.

"I will."

"Blaine, your grandparents have just arrived, come say hello," a voice says from behind Kurt; he recognizes it instantly as Blaine's father, and he sees Blaine's smile falter briefly before he recovers.

"Right, of course."

"Kurt, you absolutely _need_ to try the sausage rolls, come on," Wes says, and Kurt couldn't be more thankful as Was grabs his arm and drags him toward the patio where all the food has been set out, away from his boyfriend's father, David following behind them.

"Thanks," Kurt says when they're out of earshot.

"Hey, I want to avoid any scenes just as much as you do," Wes says with a sad smile. "I'm making it my personal mission today to keep you as far away from Thomas Anderson as possible."

David laughs at that. "I think Kurt could probably handle that himself."

"I could, but I'll take all the help I can get," Kurt replies with a smirk.

Kurt has to admit that the sausage rolls are delicious, although his favourite hors d'oeurve is without a question the mini cheesecakes; he can never say no to a good cheesecake. The three boys make their way around the tables of food, filling up their small plates with carefully chosen entrees, except for Wes who just takes one of everything. By the time they've circled the patio, Kurt and David each have a plate with a small selection of finger foods, and Wes is carefully balancing his tower of hors d'oeurves on his small plate. They're walking down the steps and onto the grass again when Rachel and Mercedes approach them.

"Hey boys!" Mercedes greets them with a wide smile.

"Hey 'Cedes! Rach. You remember Wes and David, right?"

"Of course," Mercedes answers.

"Where's Blaine? I need to congratulate him and give him a hug!" Rachel asks.

"I think he was over talking to his grandparents, but he should be back soon." Wes supplies before he pops a shrimp into his mouth.

"We're just heading over there," David says, pointing to a cluster of vacant lawn chairs. "Come with us, you can have some of Wes' food."

"Hey, speak for yourself!" Wes argues, still chewing on his shrimp.

Kurt rolls his eyes. "Come on," he says as he grabs Mercedes' hand and leads the group toward the chairs.

They sit and chat for a while until Blaine approaches the group.

"Hey Rachel, Mercedes, glad you could both make it," he says, smile warm as ever, and Kurt doesn't know how Blaine manages to seem so _cheery_ all the time.

"Blaine!" Rachel squeals as she jumps to her feet, "Congratulations!" Then she's pouncing on him, wrapping him in a hug and he stumbles back a step before he can steady himself.

"Thanks, Rachel!" Blaine replies with a chuckle, and then she frees him and returns to her seat.

"I'm not going to attack you like Berry over here, but congrats, Blaine," Mercedes says, staying put in her chair.

Blaine laughs at that, too. "Thank you, I appreciate that."

"Can you sit and hang out with us for a bit?" David asks.

Blaine glances over his shoulder for a moment before looking back at the group. "My dad's boss just got here, so I think I'd better get over there before my dad comes looking for me again," he says regretfully.

"No worries," Wes says quickly, "you do your thing. I'll keep everyone entertained."

Blaine actually _snorts_ at that, and Kurt wonders how he manages to make snorting adorable. "I'm sure you will, Wes. I'll see you guys around, though. Try to have fun. And eat as much food as you can, seriously, my mom has a _ridiculous_ amount of food and I don't want to be eating leftover bruschetta and hummus for the next two weeks," he says with a smirk before turning and heading toward where his father is standing with another man dressed in a sharp suit.

The party is mostly just that. Blaine will stop over to say a few quick words before heading away again to talk to some other relative or family friend. A few of the other Warblers drop by, but none stay very long, and it's just the five of them for most of the afternoon. But true to his word, Wes does a wonderful job of keeping Kurt away from Blaine's father, and he ends up having a great afternoon.

As the party wraps up, Blaine comes back over to find Kurt. "Sorry I haven't really had a chance to spend any time with you," he says apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, Bee. We all had a great time," Kurt reassures him.

"Still. I wish I could have spent more time with you." Blaine takes a quick look over his shoulder, and then takes Kurt's hands into his.

"We'll have lots of time to spend together this summer."

"Yeah, you're right."

"I'm so proud of you," Kurt says, and he sees a faint blush colour Blaine's cheeks. "I hope you know that."

"I know. Thank you."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Blaine looks over his shoulder again, and then drops Kurt's hands. "I uh, I think some of my family is leaving now, so I should..."

"Go ahead. I'm going to head home now anyway," Kurt says with a smile.

Blaine smiles back at him. "Yeah, okay. I'll see you later."

And then Blaine is walking off toward a group of people who seem to be getting ready to leave, greeting them with warm smiles and hugs and Kurt is still wondering how Blaine manages to do it.


	23. Chapter 23

It's the Tuesday evening following Blaine's grad party, and summer break has barely begun. Kurt is just sitting down to dinner with his family when his phone rings in his pocket. He pulls it out and checks who's calling him; it's Blaine.

"Kurt," his father warns.

"Sorry dad, it's Blaine. He knows we usually eat around now, I'll just call him back after dinner," he says, sending the call to voicemail and sliding the phone back into his pocket.

He hasn't taken his first bite before the phone is ringing again. "Sorry, I'll put it on silent," he apologizes, pulling out his phone, and it's Blaine. Again. He frowns down at the phone for a moment.

"What is it honey?" Carole asks.

"It's Blaine again," he says. "Sorry, I just... it might be important." Kurt stands up and walks to the living room, answering the call.

"Hey Blaine, what's going on?"

"Are you home?" Blaine asks, and Kurt can hear the strain in his voice; something is wrong.

"I... yeah, we were just sitting down to eat supper. What's wrong?"

"Right, of course you are, I um... sorry," Blaine splutters.

Kurt wanders around the living room, walking over to the window and looking outside and... is that Blaine's car?

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you parked outside my house?"

Blaine laughs, a little watery, but still a laugh. "Yeah, I just got in my car and drove and I ended up here."

"Well for god's sake, Blaine, come in."

"Yeah okay, um, I'll do that."

They hang up, and a few moments later Kurt is greeting Blaine at the door and he can see the tear tracks down his cheeks.

"Oh Bee, come here," Kurt says, wrapping Blaine in a hug.

Kurt feels Blaine let himself melt into the hug, and the two boys stand there in the silent embrace.

"Everything okay out there, Kurt?" his father asks, walking into the room, and then, when he sees the two of them wrapped in each others' arms, "Oh, uh, hi Blaine."

Blaine pulls away from Kurt when he hears Burt's voice. "Sorry, Mr. Hummel, I um-" Blaine starts, but Kurt cuts him off.

"Yeah we're fine, um, Blaine and I are just going to head up to my room if that's okay?" Kurt says, and he shoots his father a meaningful look that he hopes says that everything is _not_ fine.

It must work, because Burt just nods. "Okay, sure. There's supper down here if you boys get hungry," Burt says, then turns and heads back to the dining room.

Kurt takes Blaine's hand and leads him up the stairs and into his bedroom. He closes the door behind them; he doesn't want to be interrupted during whatever this conversation is, and he's pretty sure that his father will understand this one time. They sit together on Kurt's bed, and Kurt wraps Blaine up in his arms again, nestling his face in the other boy's hair.

"Talk to me, Bee. What happened?"

"I um... It's nothing, this was stupid, I shouldn't have come here," Blaine says pathetically, and he moves to get up, but Kurt just holds him tighter.

"It's not stupid, something is wrong. You can talk to me, Bee," Kurt reassures him.

Blaine is silent for a long while, and Kurt is starting to get worried that he isn't going to say anything, until Blaine finally speaks. "You can't tell anyone," he says quietly.

"Of course not."

"I mean _anyone_ , Kurt. You can't tell anybody about this," Blaine says, shifting to fix Kurt's gaze with his own, and there's an intensity in his voice that Kurt doesn't hear very often.

Kurt swallows. "I promise, Blaine. I won't say a word to anyone.

They look at each other a moment long, until Blaine seems to accept that Kurt can be trusted with whatever this is, and then Blaine is resting his head back on Kurt's chest, and Kurt places a kiss on top of his hair.

"I uh... I got in a fight with my dad," Blaine starts, voice quiet, barely above a whisper, and _of course_ this is about his dad. "He was going on about this guy he works with, and how his son was going to Harvard to become a lawyer and how _great_ that was, and how if I cared more I could have maybe been less of a disappointed and done that too. And if I have to be a _'such a fucking faggot_ ' then the least I could do for the family is be successful. And I just... snapped at him. I told him that I will be successful on my own terms and I don't need his approval and then he just _lost it_ ," Blaine takes in a deep breath before he continues.

"He was screaming at me that I can't talk to him that way, and how he's putting up with ' _the whole gay thing_ ' and even let you come to the grad party and how could I be so disrespectful to my own father. And then _I_ lost it and told him that he shouldn't be _putting up_ with it, he should accept me, and that if he doesn't then he's no father to me, and I started to walk away, and then he..." Blaine pauses, takes another deep breath. The pause is longer this time, like he's working up the courage to continue.

"He uh, he grabbed my arm, to stop me. And he screamed at me to not walk away from him when he was talking to me. And then I told him to let go of me, and he said I was his son and he could do whatever he wanted. So then I said that I wished I wasn't, and he uh... he slapped me, and then he um, he shoved me backwards, pretty hard, and I tripped and fell. And then he just told me to get out of his house, so I did, and I got in my car, and... and I drove here."

"Blaine," Kurt breathes, and squeezes his boyfriend tighter.

They sit there quietly for a few moments, Kurt trying to collect his thoughts before he speaks again. Kurt is pretty sure he knows what he needs to say, but he doesn't think Blaine will like it. He decides to say it anyway.

"I think we need to tell someone."

Blaine goes stiff in Kurt's arms, and his head snaps up to look at Kurt. "No, Kurt, you said you wouldn't tell anyone."

"I know, Blaine, but this... this is serious, Bee. You're not safe there."

"No. It's fine, I can handle it. I just... he only did it because I talked back to him. It's never happened before."

"Blaine," Kurt says, "this is not your fault, I don't know how... You know when I told you about Karofsky, and you told me it wasn't my fault? It's the same thing. This is not your fault."

"Right, and you never told anybody about that," Blaine argues.

"No, but I got out of the situation. I'm not around him anymore, so I'm safe. Blaine. You _live_ with your dad."

"Only for a couple more months, and then I'll be in New York."

"That's two more months for this to happen again," Kurt argues back, "or something worse."

Blaine is silent, just studying Kurt's face, and for a brief moment Kurt thinks he might be winning, thinks maybe Blaine will realize that he's right, that they need to tell somebody. That Blaine isn't safe in that house.

"I will never forgive you if you tell anyone about this."

Kurt blinks back at him. He was not expecting that. "I... _Blaine_."

"I'm serious, Kurt," he says, and everything about him tells Kurt just how serious he is.

Kurt nods slowly. "I... okay. Blaine, I won't say anything, I promise, but I just... please think about it. _Please_."

Blaine stares into Kurt's eyes a moment longer, then settles back into his arms. They don't say a word for a long time. Kurt's mind is racing. He needs to tell someone about this, Blaine is _not_ safe in that house, but he _can't_. He promised Blaine, and he believes that Blaine will never forgive him if he tells, and he really doesn't think he could live with that.

"I'm sorry," Kurt whispers into Blaine's hair.

He's sorry that this happened to the beautiful boy in his arms, but he's also sorry for pushing Blaine to tell someone about it when he's clearly not ready.

Blaine is silent a while longer until, quietly, "I love you."

"I love you so much, Bee."

They don't talk much after that, just lay on Kurt's bed, curled into each other. The door stays closed the whole time, and Burt doesn't come up to check on them once. Finally, Blaine pulls away slightly.

"I should probably go. They'll be mad if I'm not home soon," he says as he moves to stand.

Kurt sits up and watches Blaine as he straightens his shirt out and tries to smooth down his hair, though it's a bit hopeless at this point. Looking at Blaine now, Kurt can see the finger-shaped bruises on his arm where his father grabbed him. "Are you sure you should go home? I could ask my dad if you can stay here for the night. We have a spare room."

Blaine must have caught Kurt looking, because he moves his hand to his upper arm, covering the bruises. "Thanks, but it's fine. He'll just be more mad if I don't come home. My dad's had some time to cool off. I probably won't even see him."

"Okay," Kurt nods; he's learned not to argue with Blaine on this. "Text me when you get home, though?"

"Of course," Blaine smiles at him.

"I'll walk you out," Kurt says, standing up and taking Blaine's hand.

After kissing Blaine goodbye and watching him drive away, Kurt heads back into the kitchen. Now that he's not preoccupied with comforting his boyfriend, he realizes that he's _starving_. He finds his plate of untouched food in the fridge and pops it into the microwave to reheat it.

"Hey buddy," his father says, walking into the kitchen and settling against the counter, "everything alright?"

Kurt pauses; he considers, for a moment, telling his father. But then Kurt remembers the intensity in Blaine's eyes when he swore he would never forgive Kurt, and decides against it.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he says, as casually as he can manage. Which is, admittedly, not very casually.

"Kurt," his father insists.

"It's just... he's having a hard time at home, is all." Kurt tries to explain, and it's not even a lie, not really. It's not the _whole_ truth, but it is true, and he hopes that's enough.

His father looks at him for a moment, but then, thankfully, seems to accept it. "Okay. But you tell me if there's anything serious going on, got it?"

Kurt just nods; he can't bring himself to verbally agree, because _that_ would be a lie. It's not that he's never lied to his father before; he's just never lied to his father for someone else. And never when he thought it was something his father _should_ know. Thankfully, the microwave beeps then, and he takes the opportunity to get out of this conversation before his father can push any further.

"I'm going to head up to my room and eat," he says, taking his plate out of the microwave and heading out of the kitchen.

"Alright, kid. I'm heading to bed. See you in the morning."

"Good night, dad," Kurt says, smiling back at his father over his shoulder before he disappears up the stairs toward his room.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter was rough. Here's something a little lighter and happier to make up for it. Thanks for reading! Comments are welcome, and thanks to those of you who have commented so far, I love reading your thoughts. :)

Since Blaine isn't at Dalton anymore, the vast majority of their time spent together is at Kurt's house. And since Blaine tries to spend as little time at home as possible, he's at Kurt's house a _lot_. Not that Kurt minds, of course. Blaine will be moving to New York at the end of the summer, and he will take every opportunity he can get to spend some time with his boyfriend before Blaine leaves. So today is Wednesday, and Blaine has been at Kurt's house since lunchtime. It's a beautiful day, so they'd eaten their lunch outside, and are now laying side by side in the grass, much to Kurt's protest, staring up at the sky, hands clasped between them.

"That one looks like a shoe," Blaine says, pointing to cloud that vaguely resembles the shape of a shoe.

"Yeah, it sort of does," Kurt agrees. "And look, that one over there is a bowtie."

Blaine laughs, "you're right, it is!"

Kurt turns his head to the side to find Blaine looking at him, eyes sparkling and a smile on his face. Kurt closes the distance between them and joins his lips to Blaine's in a sweet kiss. When he pulls back, Blaine rolls onto his side, threads his fingers into Kurt's hair, and pulls Kurt forward into a deeper kiss. Kurt sighs into the kiss and moves his hand up to rest against Blaine's soft cheek. They lay in the grass just like that, kissing lazily in the afternoon sun, and Kurt wonders if a moment could ever be more perfect than this.

When they finally break the kiss, they stay where they are, foreheads pressed together. They're silent for a moment, staring into each others' eyes, until Blaine moves forward and bumps his nose against Kurt's.

Kurt giggles. "What are you doing?"

"It's an Eskimo kiss."

"A what?"

"An Eskimo kiss."

"An Eskimo kiss?"

"Yeah. It's an Inuit greeting. That far up north, if you're meeting someone outside you usually don't have much skin exposed other than your eyes and nose. So they kiss with their noses."

Kurt rolls his eyes playfully. "You're such a dork."

"You love it," Blaine counters with a grin.

"I do love it," Kurt agrees, leaning forward and bumping his nose against Blaine's.

"I think the bowtie is raining on us," Blaine says, turning to look up at the sky.

Kurt looks too, and sees the gray clouds moving in to replace the fluffy white clouds they'd been staring up at earlier. He feels a raindrop land on his cheek.

"Let's get inside before it really starts," Kurt says, rolling back over and getting to his feet, "the grass has been bad enough, the last thing I need is the rain ruining my clothes."

Blaine follows suit, and they collect their things from lunch and head back into the house. Kurt's just putting their dishes into the dishwasher when his dad walks into the room.

"Hey boys, could I talk to you for a minute in the living room?" Burt asks, and he sounds... awkward?

Kurt and Blaine share a panicked look. What would his dad want to talk to them about? Is this a sex talk? Please, god, let this not be a sex talk.

"Uh, yeah, sure dad," Kurt replies, and his father nods and walks back to the living room.

Kurt finishes putting the dishes in the dishwasher then pushes the door closed.

"Do you know what he wants to talk about?" Blaine asks.

Kurt just shrugs.

They make their way into the living room and take a seat together on the couch. Burt is already seated in his chair, and he leans forward to rests his elbows on his knees as the boys sit down.

"Everything going okay today?" he asks, looking at Blaine, and now Kurt is _really_ confused.

Kurt responds for him. "Everything's great, dad."

"I was talking to Blaine," Burt counters, though not harshly.

"Kurt's right, everything is great," Blaine agrees, tone confused.

"You seemed a bit upset there yesterday, kid," Burt continues.

"I, uh... it was nothing. I was just overreacting."

"Overreacting, huh?"

Blaine nods.

"How'd you get that?" Burt asks, gesturing to the bruise peeking out from under the sleeve on Blaine's shirt.

Blaine immediately shifts to cover it with his hand. "Oh I just, um... I bumped it on a shelf in the bathroom."

Oh. So _that's_ what this is about.

"Kurt told me you've been having a hard time at home," Burt continues, matter-of-factly, and Blaine's head snaps to the side to look at Kurt.

Kurt looks between Blaine and his father. "I didn't- but I- that's all I said," he tries to explain desperately.

"Kid, there's no easy way to say this. But I gotta ask you a question, and I want you to answer me honestly. Did your dad do that to you?"

Blaine is glaring daggers at Kurt now. "You promised," and it comes out as a broken whisper.

"Blaine, I swear, I didn't tell- I didn't say anything, all I said is you were having a hard time at home, and he _knew_ that, please, Blaine," he knows he's begging, pleading, but he just needs Blaine to _know_ , because he kept his promise.

"Kurt didn't say anything to me, kid, but I think that answers my question," Burt says, leaning back a little.

Blaine's eyes soften a little, just for a moment, before there's a flash of panic, and then he's trying to put on a mask of composure and facing back to Burt again.

"No, he just- it was an accident. He didn't mean to," Blaine tries to explain.

"It doesn't matter if he didn't mean to, it matters that he did it."

"It's not like that, he just... got mad, and it only happened the one time, it's fine."

"It's not fine, Blaine. If it happened once it will happen again. Nobody has a right to hit you, even if they're angry."

"No it's not like that, he just... I said some things to him, and I provoked him, it's not-" Blaine tries to explain further, but Burt cuts him off.

"You don't need to make excuses for him, Blaine. I don't know the man, but if everything I've heard about your father is true, it sounds like you just being _you_ provokes him."

Kurt feels totally helpless. He really underestimates his dad sometimes; the man is a lot more observant than he lets on. He's looking between his father and his boyfriend, the look of panic slowly taking over Blaine's face again. He slips his hand into Blaine's and gives it a reassuring squeeze. As awful as he knows Blaine is feeling right now, part of him is relieved this is happening; he didn't have to break his promise to Blaine, and surely his dad will do _something_ about it.

"Really, it's fine. I have it under control."

"Kid, it's not safe for you to be around that."

"I'm fine."

"I disagree. I can't in good conscience let you go back to that house if I know he might hit you again, Blaine."

"Well where exactly am I supposed to go, then?" Blaine asks, and he's starting to sound frustrated. Kurt squeezes his hand again, a little tighter, hoping the reminder will help calm Blaine down.

"You could stay here," Burt says simply.

Blaine looks shocked, but it's Kurt that speaks this time. " _What?_ "

"I talked to Carole, we have a spare room. Blaine," Burt says, leaning forward again, "we don't want you living somewhere that you aren't safe. We know you're moving to New York in less than two months, so it wouldn't be for long. But I can't let you live in that house."

"I..." Blaine starts, but trails off.

"You can say no. If there's somewhere else you'd rather go, maybe you have family you can stay with, that's fine. But you're more than welcome here."

"I don't really... they'd never let me," Blaine says.

"You're an adult now, Blaine, technically. They can't stop you if you want to move out. And I guess that means I can't make you do anything either, but god, kid, you gotta get out of there."

They sit there in silence for a long while, Blaine looking down at his hands as he thinks things over in his head, Kurt studying Blaine's face, trying to decipher what he's thinking.

"Bee?" Kurt finally asks.

Blaine looks up to meet his questioning gaze, and Kurt can see that Blaine's own eyes look conflicted.

"It's okay, Bee. I... I think you should. Stay here."

They stare at each other for another long moment, until finally, "okay."

"Okay?" Kurt asks.

"Okay," Blaine says, then turns to look at Burt and nods. "Okay."

Burt gives the boys a sad smile. "Alright, kid. We can go get your stuff after dinner. I can talk to your parents if you want."

"Yeah, okay," Blaine agrees quietly.

"Why don't you go show Blaine the spare room, Kurt?" Burt asks, pointing toward the stairs.

Kurt blinks. "Yeah, sure. Come on," he says, pulling Blaine along behind him.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning that this chapter is entirely sex. It is also the main reason for the dubcon tag.

Kurt and Blaine settle into living together pretty quickly for the most part. They were already used to spending so much time together, and Kurt is eager for all the Blaine time he could get before his boyfriend moves away at the end of the summer. Or, at least, almost all of the Blaine time he could get.

After the incident in Blaine's dorm room when Blaine tried to go a little farther than Kurt was comfortable with, Blaine has stuck to his word that he won't go any farther until Kurt is ready. Really, he has. Blaine has hinted at it plenty of times, sure. Whispers in Kurt's ear about how good it would feel to be inside him, about how much Blaine wants him, about how good Blaine wants to make him feel. Kurt's gotten pretty good at brushing the comments off, but he's had to reassure Blaine several times that it's not _Blaine_ , it's him, so he still feels bad about it. He's getting closer, but he's still not quite _there_. Kurt knows that it's hurting Blaine, that Blaine is anxious and has been ready for _months_ now and really, what is wrong with him? He has a beautiful boyfriend who wants nothing more than to make him feel good, and he's _not ready_? He tries to tell himself that it's okay, that there's nothing wrong with him setting a slower pace, but every time he sees that disappointed look in Blaine's eyes, he feels a pang of guilt and it chips away at those convictions a little bit more. And lately, they've been fooling around more often. They're teenage boys, after all, and they take full advantage of the opportunity when they have the house to themselves; and more and more frequently, Blaine is whispering those words into Kurt's ear, and Kurt is feeling awful when he turns Blaine down yet again.

Today is one such day that the boys have the house to themselves. Burt and Carole are away on a weekend trip with some of their friends, and Finn is out with Rachel for the day. Kurt is laying on his back on his bed, Blaine hovering over him, grinding into him and kissing him breathless.

Blaine pulls away from Kurt's lips, and Kurt whines at the loss until Blaine is reattaching himself to Kurt's neck, licking and sucking, and the whine turns into a moan.

"Blaine, oh my god," Kurt gasps, rolling his hips up into Blaine as Blaine moves down and sucks on the spot on Kurt's collar bone that he loves.

"I want to taste you," Blaine says into his skin.

"Blaine, _please_ ," Kurt whimpers.

Then Blaine is sitting up a bit higher, and tugging at the bottom of Kurt's shirt. Kurt helps Blaine pull the shirt over Kurt's head, and then Blaine is pulling his own shirt back off. Then his mouth is back on Kurt.

Blaine makes a slow trail down and across Kurt's chest with his mouth. He licks his way down to Kurt's right nipple, swirling his tongue around it, over it, and then blowing a cool breath of air on the skin and Kurt shivers as the small nub hardens. Blaine sucks it into his mouth, rolling it with his tongue, and Kurt lets out a low moan.

" _Blaine_ ," he gasps as Blaine pops off and trails his tongue across Kurt's chest, to the other nipple, giving it the same treatment as the first while he rolls the right one between his thumb and finger.

When Blaine finally seems satisfied with his work, he continues his way down Kurt's torso, sucking on the skin in the places he knows Kurt is most sensitive, until he reaches Kurt's belt and slowly undoes the buckle. By this point Kurt is writhing around on the bed, desperate and begging for it.

"Please, Blaine, oh my god, _please_."

"Please what, love?" Blaine asks with a smirk as he undoes Kurt's zipper and tugs the jeans and underwear down, Kurt's hard cock springing free.

Blaine loves playing this game, and if Kurt is being honest, he kind of likes it too. Blaine likes to hear him talk dirty, and Kurt has a hard time with that a lot of the time, but when Blaine has him like this, he will say _anything_ to get Blaine's mouth on him.

"I want you to suck me," Kurt gasps as Blaine wraps his hand around Kurt's throbbing dick and slowly, lazily begins to stroke him.

"You want me to suck you, hm? Where? Here?" Blaine asks playfully, smirking, and then leans down and sucks at a spot on the inside of Kurt's thigh.

Kurt moans, takes in a shaky breath, shakes his head.

"No? You don't want me to suck you?" Blaine asks, looking back at Kurt again, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Suck my cock, please," Kurt begs, because at this point, he is not beyond begging. He needs this. "Please, Blaine, I want to feel your mouth on my cock, please, _please_."

"As you wish," Blaine says, and then he's sinking down around Kurt and even if Blaine could speak around the dick in his mouth, Kurt wouldn't have been able to tell you what he'd said.

Blaine bobs up and down on Kurt's cock, swirling his tongue around the head and sucking and Kurt is squirming beneath him, trying to stop his hips from thrusting deeper into Blaine's mouth. But then Blaine is taking him further, deeper than he ever has, and Kurt feels Blaine's nose in the patch of hair at the base of his cock, and he groans.

"Blaine, _fuck_ , oh my god, yes," he gasps, breathless, head thrown back.

Blaine comes up, a loud _pop_ when he releases Kurt from his lips, and he smirks. "I love it when you're like this," he says, voice raw from having taken Kurt so deep and _why is that so hot_?

Blaine ducks back down, running his tongue along the vein on the underside of Kurt's cock, sucking Kurt's balls lightly into his mouth, just teasing, and it's driving Kurt absolutely crazy.

"Please, Blaine," he manages to gasp, and really he thinks it's pretty impressive that he can manage to say anything in the state he's in right now.

Blaine climbs up the bed, over Kurt, and kisses him fiercely, hand finding Kurt's cock and stroking slowly as Kurt moans into the kiss. Then Blaine is at Kurt's ear, whispering.

"I want you to come with me inside you. I want to feel your ass around me when I make you come."

Kurt moans. That _does_ sound hot. In the back of his mind, he knows he still isn't really ready, but this does feel good, and Blaine _really_ wants it, and really his boyfriend has done so much for him, and been so patient, and doesn't he owe Blaine this?

Before he can think too much about it and change his mind, he's nodding. "Okay."

"Okay, what?" Blaine growls into Kurt's ear. "I want to hear you ask for it."

"Please fuck me?" Kurt asks, and the words don't feel quite right coming from his lips, but he doesn't say anything else.

Blaine pulls back, and he can see the hunger in Blaine's eyes, and he thinks that maybe this really isn't so bad. Maybe he just needs to _do it_ , and once he has, he'll be wondering why he waited so long. Blaine wants this, and he wants to make his boyfriend happy, and this will make Blaine happy.

"I thought you'd never ask," Blaine says, and then he's climbing back down the bed. "Turn over, on your hands and knees," he instructs, and Kurt complies, rolling onto his stomach then getting up on hands and knees, ass out toward Blaine.

Blaine puts his hands on Kurt's ass and spreads his cheeks apart, holding them like that. Kurt's starting to feel a bit self conscious in this position, everything out in the open for Blaine to see, but then he feels a soft breath, and then he feels something warm and wet, and _oh god_ that's Blaine's _tongue_ tracing around his hole. Kurt's head drops to the pillow under him as he groans, and he swears he can feel Blaine's smile against his skin.

"Mmm, you like that, love?" Blaine asks, teasing.

"Yeah," Kurt gasps.

"You want more?"

"Mhmm," and that's all it takes because then Blaine isn't talking anymore, his mouth is on Kurt, tongue teasing at his hole, pushing in slowly, and Kurt gasps again.

This goes on for a while, Blaine thrusting his tongue in and out of Kurt, Kurt wriggling beneath him and whimpering, until Blaine brings his mouth away and Kurt whines.

"I want to try a finger now... is that okay?" Blaine asks.

They've gotten this far; Blaine tongue has already been inside him, so he can't really change his mind now, can he? "Yeah. Yeah, do it," Kurt agrees.

"It might be a little cold at first," Blaine warns, and then there's a finger at his entrance, cold and wet, and Kurt realizes that must be lube and he's not sure when or where Blaine got that but he also doesn't really care at the moment because _oh my god_ Blaine's finger is in his ass, and he's clenching around it, trying to get used to the feeling. It's a bit uncomfortable, not painful, but just... different.

"Shh, it's okay, love. Just relax for me," Blaine soothes.

Kurt tries to relax his muscles, and eventually he must succeed, because he feels Blaine slowly beginning to thrust his finger in and out, his mouth coming back down to tease at Kurt's entrance. Eventually the discomfort fades, and he gives into the pleasure, letting out low moans as Blaine thrusts his finger in faster and deeper. Then the thrusts stop, and he can feel Blaine's finger moving inside him, and it's not uncomfortable but just sort of odd, until he's overcome with a wave of pleasure like he's never felt, and something between a high-pitched moan and a gasp is coming out of his mouth.

"Blaine, fuck, _fuck_ , oh my _god_ ," he's panting, and Blaine does it again and he's pushing himself back onto Blaine's finger, chasing the feeling.

"I think you're ready for two," Blaine says, and Kurt can hear the smirk in his voice.

Kurt feels the finger slip out and his hole clenches around nothing. But soon it's replaced, and Kurt feels the finger back, pushing into him, cold again with what must be more lube, and this time there's a second, and they're stretching him wider, and it hurts, just a little. He whimpers into the pillow, biting his lip.

"It's okay love, I have you. Just relax," Blaine soothes, and then Kurt feels a hand wrap around his cock and begin to stroke him slowly, and his whimper turns into a low, soft moan.

"That's right baby, I'm going to make you feel so good," Blaine says to him, and Kurt feels the fingers push further into him, slowly but surely, and the stretch is still a little painful, but the hand on his cock feels so good and he tries to focus on that feeling instead.

Eventually Blaine's fingers are completely inside Kurt, and Blaine stills them. He continues pumping Kurt's cock as Kurt gets used to the new feeling of fullness in his ass.

"You okay?" Blaine asks quietly.

"Yeah," Kurt replies, a little breathless. "Yeah, you can move now.

The pain is mostly gone now, he can still feel the stretch but it's discomfort than hurt. Blaine doesn't say anything, just slowly begins to pull his fingers out, and then thrust them back in, keeping pace with his hand on Kurt's cock, and the discomfort starts to ease. As Kurt begins to relax into the feeling, Blaine starts scissoring his fingers, stretching Kurt open further, and it stings a little, but it feels good, too, and Kurt's starting to think this might not be so bad. Every few thrusts Blaine pauses, crooks his fingers, and brushes against Kurt's prostate again, sending a jolt of pleasure through him, and _that_ is certainly not so bad.

"I'm going to try another now," Blaine says, voice low.

Blaine's fingers slip out of Kurt's ass, and after a moment they're pushing back in, three this time, and it hurts but Kurt knows to expect it now. He bites his lip again, trying to hold in the whimpers, though a few escape. Blaine pauses when his fingers are fully inside Kurt, giving Kurt a chance to get used to the feeling, and he places a gentle kiss on Kurt's hip.

"You're so good for me, love. So hot like this."

He doesn't wait for Kurt's go ahead this time; he must have felt Kurt relax into the feeling, because then he's slowly thrusting into Kurt, matching pace with his hand on Kurt's cock again, spreading Kurt open as Kurt whines and squirms beneath him. Blaine places kisses along Kurt's hips, lower back, ass, as he works his fingers in and out of the tight hole.

"So perfect," Blaine whispers into Kurt's skin as he places another kiss on Kurt's hip. "Taking my fingers in your ass like this, moaning and whining and squirming. All from just my hand. Fuck, Kurt, you're so hot."

This goes on for a while longer, Blaine gradually increasing his pace, stroking over Kurt's prostate every several thrusts and sending a jolt of please through him. Eventually, Blaine speaks again.

"Do you think you're ready, love?" he asks into the skin of Kurt's hip, placing another gentle kiss there.

Kurt sucks in a breath, turns his head to look down at Blaine looking back up at him, eyes dark. "Yeah, I think so."

And then the fingers are sliding out of Kurt, and he whines at the loss. He hears Blaine rip the condom open, and then he feels his boyfriends cock against his entrance, teasing, then slowly pushing into him.

" _Fuck_ ," Blaine moans softly as he pushes deeper into Kurt.

Kurt thought the fingers stretched him wide, but Blaine feels _huge_. He bites his lip to fight back the whimpers, but he can't hold them all in. Blaine continues pushing in, slowly but surely, until finally his full length is deep inside Kurt.

"It's alright love, take your time to get used to it," Blaine soothes, leaning over Kurt and kissing his shoulder.

"It's just... a lot," Kurt says through gritted teeth.

"I know, sweetheart, I know."

Blaine reaches a hand around and grasps Kurt's cock again, setting a slow, soothing pace, and Kurt whines at the feeling. It feels good, and it helps to distract from the burn he feels as Blaine's cock stretches his hole open. Eventually, though, he does get used to the feeling of being so full, and he just wants Blaine to _move_.

" _Blaine_ ," Kurt whines, and if he'd thought it through, he'd know that wasn't doing to get him anywhere because he isn't actually _asking_ for anything.

"Yes, love?" Blaine asks.

"Move," Kurt says, " _please_."

Blaine doesn't respond, just slowly pulls his hips back, sliding out of Kurt until he's barely inside him, and then thrusting back into him just as slowly, and the two boys moan together at the feeling.

"You feel so good, Kurt, _fuck_ ," Blaine gasps as he continues to thrust, picking up speed.

Kurt doesn't respond. As he gets used to the stretch, he starts to enjoy the feeling. Eventually he's all moans and gasps and whines at every thrust of Blaine's cock into his ass, every stroke of Blaine's hand over his own throbbing cock, every time Blaine bites into his shoulder, and he feels the pressure building in his balls, feels the release getting closer.

"I'm gonna... Blaine, I'm-" he gasps, breathless, unable to get the words out.

"Come for me, baby. I want to feel you," Blaine coaxes, thrusting into him faster and harder.

Blaine slams into him and swipes a thumb over the head of his cock on an upstroke, and that does Kurt in. He's coming hard, shooting across the bed sheets and moaning high-pitched, incoherent words as his ass clenches around Blaine's cock, riding out his orgasm. Blaine thrusts a few more times, and then he's moaning load, coming in Kurt's ass, then collapsing on top of Kurt.

The two of them lie there for a few minutes, recovering from their orgasms. Finally, Blaine rolls off of Kurt, sliding out of him, and he hisses at the sensation. He turns to face Blaine, whose smiling back at him warmly.

Blaine reaches out, brushes some hair out of Kurt's face. "That was amazing," he says, then leans forward and places a gentle kiss on Kurt's lips, pulls back, then, "You're amazing," and another kiss. "I told you I'd make it good for you. Bet you're wondering why you waited so long now," Blaine teases, but doesn't give Kurt a chance to answer, just kisses him again.

They lay in the bed a few moments longer, Blaine's arms wrapped around Kurt, until Blaine finally speaks again.

"We should probably get cleaned up," he says with a laugh. "We made a bit of a mess."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm going to go take a shower," Kurt agrees, standing up off the bed and wincing slightly at the movement. He's going to feel this tomorrow. " Or maybe a hot bath," he amends.

Blaine laughs lightly. "A bath might be a good idea."

Kurt makes his way into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He starts to run the bath, and as the tub adds some bubble bath and lays out a towel for himself. He feels... weird. It's not that he regrets what they've just done, necessarily. He can't deny that it felt good. But he'd thought, or at least hoped, that once it was over he'd feel like he made the right decision, and at this point he just isn't sure if he has.


	26. Chapter 26

It's August 12th. Kurt hates August 12th. He hates it almost as much as he hates October 27th, and he hates it just a bit more than Mother's day. Every year he wishes he could sleep through it, but he never can, he has to get up and face the world with the reminder one more year has passed, and his mother should be one year older, but she's not. Because she's not here anymore.

He doesn't talk about her often. Or ever, really. He's always been so different, and this is just one more way that he's different. He doesn't want the sympathetic looks, he doesn't want to be that kid with the dead mom. And he doesn't owe it to anyone, anyway. Kurt _loved_ his mother; she was the most important person in his entire world. Sure, he and his dad have an amazing relationship now, and he's so grateful for that, but he misses his mother every single day. As much as Burt tries, there are some things that Kurt's father just doesn't _get_ , but he knows that his mother would. Carole is great, and he loves her, but she can never replace his real mom.

Kurt walks into the kitchen to find Carole at the stove, a stack of pancakes beside her, Finn and Blaine sitting at the table chatting happily. Finn spots Kurt first.

"Morning, dude," Finn says with a small smile.

"Hey Finn."

Carole turns to look at him. "I'm making pancakes if you want some, Kurt."

"No thanks, I'll just have some cereal," Kurt replies, rummaging through the cupboard next to Carole and pulling out a box of cereal before making his way over to the table where the milk had already been set out. He grabs a bowl and spoon on his way, and takes the seat next to Blaine.

"Good morning," Blaine says, greeting him with a cheery smile.

"Morning," Kurt replies, offering a weak smile in return before turning his focus to the bowl in front of him and pouring some cereal and milk for himself.

Finn continues prattling on about something that Kurt couldn't really care less about as Kurt stares down at his bowl, swirling his spoon idly through the milky cereal. Thankfully Blaine seems to know what Finn is talking about, because Kurt hears him chime in every so often with a comment or question. But he still catches the sideways glances Blaine keeps throwing his way.

He eats a few spoonfuls of cereal, but his bowl is still more full than empty when he stands up from the table and walks over to the sink to pour the rest out. He's not hungry, so he figures there's no point in forcing himself to eat.

Kurt makes his way back to his room, takes a seat in front of his vanity and stares back at his reflection in the mirror. Sitting here makes him feel closer to her. He's not religious, doesn't believe in god or heaven, but when he sits in this spot, he feels like his mother is watching over him. He pulls open the top left drawer, slowly, and takes out a small box. Placing it on the vanity, he flips the lid open and gently picks up the delicate dragonfly brooch inside, holding it up in the sunlight shining in through his window. His mother had beautiful jewellery, but this brooch had always been his favourite. He's not sure why, really; it certainly wasn't the most expensive or even the prettiest of her pieces, but something about it just felt the most _her_. Every time he'd help her get ready for an evening out, if she asked him to help her choose her jewellery, he'd insist on the dragonfly brooch. And every time, she would smile down at him and tell him it was a wonderful idea. He could never bring himself to actually wear it out anywhere; it was too special. But on some of the hardest days he'll wear it, just alone in his room, and it brings him some comfort. Carefully, he pins it to the left side of his shirt, just over his heart, then stares back at himself in the mirror. He pulls his shoulders back, straightens his posture. This is just one more day; he can do this.

There's a soft knock on his door, followed by Blaine's quiet voice, "Kurt?"

Kurt doesn't look away from himself in the mirror when he replies. "Come in."

Blaine eases the door open and makes his way over to Kurt, standing behind the chair and putting a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey," Kurt says, eyes flicking up to meet Blaine's in the mirror briefly, before falling back down and focusing on the brooch pinned over his heart.

Blaine rubs his thumb in slow, soothing circles on Kurt's shoulder. "It's pretty."

"Thanks."

"Carole told me."

Kurt doesn't respond. There's nothing to say, really.

"You can talk to me about it. If you want," Blaine offers.

"I'm fine."

Blaine is silent for a moment. "Okay," he says, giving Kurt's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "I'm here, if you change your mind."

Kurt stays quiet, and eventually, Blaine's hand drops from his shoulder with a sigh, and Blaine leaves him alone again in his room, staring at his reflection. It's not that he doesn't trust Blaine; he trusts Blaine more than he trusts anyone else in the whole world. But this is just so... _personal_. And maybe this isn't a healthy way to deal with it, maybe he _should_ talk to Blaine about it. But not today.

Kurt spends the rest of the morning alone in his room. Just after lunch time, he's sitting on his bed looking through a box of old photos when there's another soft knock on his door.

"Kurt?" His father's voice this time.

"Yeah, dad," he replies, not looking up from the photo in his hands; a young Kurt, about 4, holding a fairy wand complete with pink ribbons and a star at the tip, smiling wide as his mother crouches beside him, hugging him tight and planting a kiss on his cheek.

Burt eases the door open, but doesn't enter. "You ready to go?"

Kurt looks up then. "Yeah. I'll be there in a minute."

His father just nods, then closes the door gently and Kurt hears his footsteps retreat down the hall toward the stairs. He carefully returns the photos to the box, replaces the lid, and slides it back onto the top shelf of his closet. Then he moves back to his vanity, unpins the brooch, and tucks it safely back into his vanity drawer inside it's box. He takes a final look at himself in the mirror, then makes his way out of his room and down the stairs to meet his dad.

They're stay quiet the whole drive to the graveyard, and quiet still as they pull into the parking lot then make their way to his mother's grave. They stand together in front of the dark stone, engraved _Elizabeth Hummel_. Burt takes a few steps forward, kneeling down and places the rose he'd stopped at a flower shop along the way to get on the ground at its base. He kneels there on the ground, eyes cast downward. After several minutes he brings a hand to his face, wiping at what Kurt presumes are tears, although he can't see his father's face to be sure. Then Burt is standing, turning, walking back toward the car. He places a firm hand on Kurt's shoulder for a moment, pausing and looking him in the eyes, before continuing on his way and giving Kurt a moment alone with his mother.

Kurt steps forward, sits on the ground where his father was just kneeling, places a hand on his mother's headstone.

"Hey, mom. Happy birthday," he whispers into the warm summer air. "I'm doing pretty well. Blaine is living with us now. You remember him? He's my boyfriend. He, uh... his parents don't accept him. But I know you would have loved him." He's quiet for a minute, then, "I miss you, mom."

He sits there silently for a while longer, before finally he stands, wipes the tears from his face; he's not quite sure when they started to fall.

"I love you," he whispers, brushing his hand over the headstone one last time before he turns and walks away, back toward the car where his father is waiting.

They drive silently, until Burt breaks the silence about halfway through their return trip. "Your mother would have been so proud of you, Kurt."

Kurt turns to look at his father whose eyes are still focused on the road ahead. "Thanks, dad," he says with a small smile.

He hopes his father is right. He wants to be a person that she would be proud of, and really, he thinks she would be.

When they get home, Kurt finds Blaine in the living room with Finn, sitting on the couch watching something about sports that he can't be bothered to figure out. He takes the spot next to Blaine, curling up into his boyfriend's welcoming arms. Blaine wraps his arms around Kurt, holds him tight, plants a sweet kiss on the top of his hair.

"Hi, love."

"Mmm," Kurt hums into Blaine's chest.

Blaine rubs Kurt's arm soothingly, gives him a gentle squeeze, but doesn't say anything else. Kurt is glad for that; right now he just needs Blaine to hold him. He'll get through today, tomorrow will be a new day, and life will go on.


	27. Chapter 27

Kurt pulls his car into Wes' driveway. It's the last weekend of the summer, and the Warblers are having a final going away party for all of the graduates before everyone heads off across the country for college. Kurt got permission to stay the night, so he and Blaine have their bags packed and they're ready for a night of celebrating and trying to forget that in less than a week they'll be hours away from each other.

Kurt and Blaine get out of the car, grab their bags, and Blaine grabs Kurt's hand as they walk toward the house. Kurt has never been to Wes' house before, but he knows Wes' family has money, and if he didn't already know that, he would know now base on the large colonial home they're approaching. Blaine leads Kurt up the steps to the front door, knocking loudly and then waiting a moment until someone who must be Wes' mother is opening the door.

"Blaine, dear, hello!" she says, giving him a hug, then pulling back. "And you must be Kurt," she adds with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you," Kurt smiles tentatively.

"Come on in. The boys are downstairs," she says with a sweet smile.

"Thanks, Eve," Blaine smiles back, then tugs on Kurt's hand, leading him down a hallway toward a staircase to the basement.

When they get to the basement, they find the group of Warblers gathered around a large table. Wes seems to be telling some sort of elaborate story requiring a lot of hand movements while David, Nick, Jeff, Trent, and Thad watch him with looks varying from intrigued to amused. Wes spots Kurt and Blaine first and pauses, mid-sentence and hand flourish, to greet them.

"Hey, look who finally decided to show up!" he shouts, a little too loud, and makes his way over to wrap Blaine in a hug.

"We're not even late, Wes," Blaine laughs as Wes releases him and moves on to hug Kurt.

"Everyone else is here before you, so that makes you late," Wes reasons, taking a step back and smiling at them both. "Come on and sit down, I'll start my story over so you can hear it," he suggests, gesturing toward a pair of empty chairs at the table."

"Is that really necessary?" Thad asks from the table, an exasperated look on his face.

"I'm sorry, would you rather I continue part-way through and confuse poor Blaine and Kurt here? They need the full context!"

Trent laughs. "I think he'd rather you not tell any of it."

"Well, too bad," Wes says with a cheeky smile, returning to his place at the table.

Kurt and Blaine take the empty seats Wes had gestured to as he launches into an elaborate story involving a petting zoo and his cousin Alex who has apparently claimed to be great with animals but was most decidedly not great with animals.

The party evolves into reminiscing about old times with the Warblers. Kurt is unfamiliar with many of the memories they're sharing, but he does learn that Blaine once absolutely _insisted_ on performing a Nickelback number, and he files that information away to use against his boyfriend later.

Eventually they break out the alcohol. Kurt declines, he never drinks, and he's happy to see that Trent isn't drinking, either, so at least he won't be the only sober one. But the rest of the boys are enjoying themselves, definitely on the other side of tipsy at this point, and someone suggests a game of truth or dare, and now they're sitting on the floor in a circle.

"Truth," Nick says.

"If you and Jeff had to have a threesome with someone in this room, who would you pick?" Thad asks with a smirk.

Nick looks around the group of boys, considering. "I think I'd have to say Blaine. He's at least into guys, and Kurt doesn't seem like he'd be into it, so I can't choose him. No offense, Kurt."

Kurt feels the blush rise in his cheeks; he's not even sure why, it's not like he should be embarrassed that Nick thinks he wouldn't want a threesome. "None taken."

"That's cheating!" Wes argues, "It's not about who would be most likely to agree, it's if everyone here would do it, who would you do it with."

Nick rolls his eyes. "Fine," he thinks for a moment, then, "still Blaine," he decides, nodding his head thoughtfully.

The rest of the boys burst into laughter. "Fair enough," Wes says.

"My turn," Nick says, then turns to Blaine. "Speaking of Blaine, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Blaine shoots back easily.

"I dare you to drag your boyfriend into that closet over there and blow him."

Kurt's jaw drops as he looks at Nick, arms crossed and a smug look on his face. He was certainly not expecting that. He whips his head around to look at Blaine, who seems to be considering the dare. Then Blaine nods.

"Yeah, okay. As long as..." he trails off, glancing to his side and taking in Kurt's shocked expression. "If you're okay with it?"

"I um...," Kurt trails off, not really sure what to say.

"Oh come on, do it!" Jeff encourages.

Kurt looks around at the other boys, all giving him encouraging looks, and then back at Blaine. "Al-alright," he nods, though he's still a little unsure.

The other boys cheer as Blaine grabs Kurt by the hand, pulling him to his feet and then across the room into the closet, closing the door behind them.

And then Blaine is pressing Kurt up against the wall, mouth hot and wet against his, tongue running along Kurt's lower lip and he parts them to allow Blaine entrance. As Blaine deepens the kiss, Kurt feels Blaine's hands moving down to his hips, his waist, finding his belt and unbuckling it, then opening his pants. Blaine releases Kurt's mouth, then drops down to his knees, mouthing at Kurt's growing erection through the fabric of Kurt's underwear. Kurt tries to suppress the moan, still all too aware of the group of boys just on the other side of the door, and still in disbelief that he's actually letting this happen. But then Blaine is pulling Kurt's pants and underwear down to the floor and sinking his mouth onto Kurt's cock, and Kurt _can't_ suppress that moan. Usually when they do this, there's a lot more build-up; more making out, more teasing, it's just slower. This feels almost dirty, getting off in a closet with their friends in the next room, Blaine so eager to taste him, but part of him is kind of into it. He threads his fingers into Blaine's hair, freeing some of the curls from the gel, and his head thumps back against the wall.

Blaine pops Kurt's cock out of his mouth, smirks up devilishly at Kurt as he runs his tongue around the head, teasing, and a shiver runs through Kurt at the sensation. Then Blaine is sucking just the head back into his mouth, pumping the shaft with his fist and Kurt is trying hard not to squirm.

"Blaine, please," he begs, breathless.

Then Blaine takes Kurt fully into the wet heat of his mouth again, and Kurt moans loudly, completely forgetting about the other boys outside until he hears their cheers of encouragement, and even then he doesn't really care because this just feels so _good_. Blaine picks up speed, sucking and running his tongue along the vein on the underside of Kurt's cock, and Kurt feels the his orgasm building, feels his balls tightening as he approaches his release.

"Blaine, _Blaine_ , I-" he starts, then cuts himself off with a high-pitched moan as he shoots into his boyfriend's mouth.

"Get it, Kurt!" he hears a voice cheer from the other side of the door, and he can't quite tell whose voice it is but he also doesn't really care.

Blaine works him through the orgasm, swallowing every last drop that Kurt gave him, before letting Kurt's softening dick drop from his lips and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He stands up and presses Kurt into the wall again, kissing him deeply, open-mouthed, letting Kurt taste himself for a moment before pulling back slightly, breathing heavy.

"That was so hot," Blaine says, eyes dark and sparkling.

"Yeah," Kurt agrees with a small gasp, still trying to catch his breath.

"You should probably put your pants back on," Blaine says with a smirk.

"Right, yeah. I should do that," Kurt agrees, pulling his underwear and pants back up and fastening his belt around his hips.

Once they've both caught their breath and straightening themselves out as best they can, Blaine opens the door and they walk back across the room and take their spots in the circle, and Kurt can feel himself blushing furiously.

"Good work, Blaine," Nick says, clapping his hands slowly, "very impressive."

Blaine just rolls his eyes. "My turn. Wes, truth or dare?"

Wes smirks. "Truth."

"Alright. Most embarrassing hard on you've ever had?"

Wes actually laughs. "That's easy! At my great aunt's funeral. I didn't even really know her, I'd met her maybe twice, but she was family so I had to be there. And I was seeing Amanda at the time, and she was sending me some, you know, less than wholesome text messages. She'd just sent me a _particularly_ spicy one, and then my mom comes over and tells me they're short a pallbearer and need me to stand in," he chuckles to himself. "Luckily it was, you know, a funeral, so it was pretty easy to distract myself and get rid of it pretty fast. But man."

"Jesus, Wes," Trent sighs.

"Did anyone notice?" Thad asks.

"I think my mom did, when she asked, but she never said anything. But anyway, it's my turn!" Wes turns to look at Kurt. "Alright, Kurt. Truth or dare?"

Kurt thinks for a moment. He considers choosing dare, but after Blaine's dare, he's not sure he's ready for that quite yet, so he goes with the safer option. "Truth."

"Are you the top or the bottom?"

Kurt feels the heat rush to his cheeks again instantly. So much for the safer option.

Wes must notice the colour in his cheeks. "Wait, you... you guys have done it, right?"

Kurt's blush deepens at the question. "I- Yeah, we have, um..."

"Or do you switch?" Wes asks, eyes widening. "Blaine won't tell me," he adds with a pout.

Kurt is relieved to hear his boyfriend hasn't been divulging details about their sex life, but at the moment he kind of wishes Blaine _had_ so that he wouldn't have to answer this question.

"No, um... bottom," he mumbles out.

"What?" Wes asks.

"I, uh... I'm the bottom," Kurt repeats, a little louder.

"Yes! I knew it," Wes says with a triumphant smile, "but I'll put you out of your misery. Go ahead, ask someone else."

The game continues much the same way for the rest of the night. Kurt learns that while Trent is gay his first kiss was, in fact, with a girl. He learns that David once got high and drove a golf cart into a lake; luckily it was shallow enough that he'd managed to get it back out before anyone found it. He watches Wes kiss Blaine. He watches Jeff reach a hand down the front of Nick's pants and grope until Jeff is hard and panting, then Nick pulls his hand back out and continues the game like nothing happened. He tells them about his old crush on Finn, and his brief relationship with Brittany when he was pretending to be straight.

"Truth or dare?" Thad asks, looking at Kurt.

"You know what, let's try a dare," Kurt decides.

He'll probably regret the decision, but it can't be _that_ bad, right?

"Finally!" Wes cheers.

Thad smirks at him. "I dare you to kiss Nick."

"Come on over, baby," Nick sing-songs, beckoning him with a playful wink, and Jeff laughs.

Oh, well that's not so bad. Kurt is about to agree and make his way over to Nick when Blaine cuts in.

"Okay, I think that's enough."

Kurt's head swivels toward Blaine, confused. "What?"

"What's wrong Anderson, scared I'll steal your boyfriend?" Nick teases.

Blaine laughs, but there's no humour in it. "Yeah right. I just think it's getting late, we've been playing this forever, we should do something else."

"Oh come on, Blaine, lighten up," Thad argues.

"What's your problem, Blaine? You can kiss Wes but Kurt can't kiss Nick?" Jeff asks accusingly.

"That's not- you know what, I don't have to listen to this," Blaine says, huffing out a breath and standing, then he turns and walks out of the room.

Kurt stares after Blaine for a moment, wondering what just happened, before he decides he'd better go after his boyfriend. "I'll go talk to him."

He stands and follows Blaine out of the room. Kurt finds Blaine in Wes' bedroom, leaning forward against a dresser, staring ahead at himself in a mirror hanging from the wall. He doesn't look when Kurt enters the room.

"Hey," Kurt starts carefully, "are you okay?"

"Fine," Blaine replies curtly.

Kurt is silent as he approaches Blaine, then wraps his arms around Blaine's waist and rests his chin on Blaine's shoulder, placing a kiss on Blaine's cheek before looking forward and fixing his gaze on Blaine's eyes in the mirror. Blaine's eyes don't meet his.

"Try again, Bee."

"I'm fine, Kurt," Blaine repeats, more firmly, and pulls out of Kurt's arms, though he doesn't move away.

"What's your problem, Blaine?" Kurt asks, starting to get frustrated now, because really, what _is_ Blaine's problem?

"It's nothing, Kurt, just drop it," Blaine says, a hint of frustration in his voice.

"No, I'm not dropping this, you're being ridiculous. Is it really that big of a deal if I kiss someone else in a game of _truth or dare_?"

Finally, Blaine turns to look at Kurt. "Yes, okay! Yes it's a big deal. I don't want my _boyfriend_ kissing other guys. Okay? Is that what you want to hear?" His voice has more than a hint of frustration now.

"Oh but it's fine for you to kiss other people, is it?" Kurt counters, because he loves Blaine, really he does, but his boyfriend is being a complete hypocrite right now.

"If you had a problem you should have said something!" Blaine replies, voice raised.

"Oh calm down. I don't have a problem, Blaine, you're the one with the problem here," Kurt says, rolling his eyes.

"Since when is it a problem to not want my boyfriend kissing other people?!" Blaine is nearly yelling now. "I'm the only one who should be kissing you."

And then Blaine's hands are grabbing Kurt's hips, spinning him around and pinning him into the dresser, and actually that kind of hurts as the edge digs into his back. Blaine presses his lips against Kurt's, hard, tongue probing at Kurt's lips and Kurt opens his mouth instinctively to allow him entrance. Blaine tastes like Blaine, but also like beer, and he's a bit sloppy in his drunken state, and the dresser is really digging into Kurt's back painfully now. Kurt pushes at Blaine a little until their lips part and he can speak.

"Stop, Blaine, that hurts," he says, moving forward slightly with the new bit of distance between them and rubbing a hand on his lower back.

Blaine grabs his hips again and reattaches their lips. He doesn't press Kurt back into the dresser again, this time he turns them around and pushes Kurt back onto the bed behind them. Kurt falls backward with a small yelp, and them Blaine is climbing on top of him.

When their lips part for a breath, Kurt speaks. "Blaine, what are you doing?"

"I'm the only one who gets to kiss you," Blaine says, before reattaching their lips in another hard kiss.

And then Blaine is mouthing at Kurt's neck, starting to tug open the buttons on Kurt's shirt, rolling his hips down.

"Blaine, stop it, you're drunk," Kurt says, giving his shoulder a gentle shove.

Blaine doesn't seem to even register it. He has several of the buttons at the top of Kurt's shirt open, and he moves down, kissing and licking at Kurt's chest, slipping a hand inside and rolling a nipple between his fingers. Kurt arches up into the touch instinctively.

"Blaine, stop, please," he tries again, pushing a little more firmly, but Blaine again doesn't move, and he's starting to panic a little now because really, this is not the time for this, he doesn't want this right now, Blaine is _drunk_.

Blaine pops a few more buttons open, and then he's sucking a nipple into his mouth, and Kurt lets out an involuntary whimper.

"Blaine, _please_ ," Kurt pleads, shoving more roughly at Blaine's shoulders, and finally Blaine raises his head, his hands stop roaming, and he looks at Kurt.

"Hey, everything okay in he- _oh_ , shit, sorry." Kurt looks over and sees Wes standing awkwardly in the doorway. "The door was open, I just..."

"It's fine," Kurt says, shoving at Blaine again, and this time Blaine rolls off him easily. Kurt stands, buttons his shirt up, "I uh... I'm going to go, I think. I'm not feeling great." His voice is shaky as he speaks. "Blaine, I'll uh... I'll come back tomorrow and pick you up."

Kurt doesn't wait for a response before he's moving past Wes in the doorway, grabbing his key from the table, his coat from the closet where Blaine had given him a blowjob earlier that night, and then he's making his way up the stairs, out the front door to his car.

Wes must have followed, because just as Kurt pulls his car door open, Wes' voice calls after him. "Wait, Kurt, are you... is everything okay?" Kurt looks up and Wes in standing at the top of the stairs to the front door.

"It's fine, I just... don't feel great," Kurt says, and he knows he doesn't sound convincing but he hopes Wes will let it go.

Thankfully, Wes does just that. "Okay, well... drive safe. I'll see you in the morning?"

"Sure," Kurt agrees, and then he's getting in his car and driving away.

The tears don't come until he's halfway home, and he pulls over for a good 15 minutes to calm himself down before he continues driving.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it! The final chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading (and especially commenting!) along the way, or who has just found this fic and made it to the end. I appreciate each and every one of you who have taken the time to read my work! This is the first long fic I've written, and I would love to hear any thoughts you had while reading, so please feel free to leave a review if you wish. I promise I don't bite!
> 
> I am in the process of writing a sequel. It's not finished yet, but I will be posting it as soon as it's done, which will hopefully be before too long! So if you're looking for more, and/or you're unhappy with the uncertainy we're leaving the boys with (don't worry, I am too!), have no fear, there will be more!
> 
> Best wishes to you all, and please enjoy the final chapter of The Hazards of Love 1.

Kurt doesn't sleep well that night. He keeps himself up most of the night running over the evening's events in his head. Blaine was drunk, he didn't mean it. Kurt wasn't firm enough when he asked Blaine to stop. He'd let Blaine give him a blowjob in the closet earlier that night, of course Blaine thought making out in a different room would be fine, Kurt shouldn't be so hot and cold about it. Is he really that much of a prude? He just overreacted. Nothing had really even _happened_ , not really. And of course Blaine didn't want him kissing other boys, especially if those boys were Blaine's friends. Kurt had admittedly reacted pretty poorly to Blaine and Brittany, and that was before they were even together, so who was he to say anything? By the time he's pulling into Wes' driveway just after 10 the next morning, he's managed to convince himself that last night was an overreaction on his part, and he's pushed the uneasy feeling it's left him with to the back of his mind.

Kurt pulls into Wes' driveway just after ten the next morning. He's been awake since 6am, unable to fall back asleep, but it had been too early to head back to Wes'. He pulls out his phone to send Blaine a text saying he's arrived, but then he sees Blaine coming out the door carrying two bags and he slips the phone back into his pocket. He watches Blaine give Wes a quick hug, and then walk down the steps and make his way over to the car. Blaine tosses the bags into the back seat, and the slips into the passenger seat next to Kurt. Kurt pulls out of the driveway, and they drive in silence for a few minutes until Blaine speaks.

"I don't want to fight with you, Kurt. In less than a week I'll be gone, and... I don't want to spend the time I have left fighting with you. So, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... reacted like that. Last night."

"I hate fighting with you, too," Kurt agrees. "And I'm sorry too, I um... I overreacted, I think. Of course you were mad. You had every right to be."

From the corner of his eye, Kurt sees Blaine run a hand through his curly hair, for once free from the gel. "I guess I just... got jealous? I don't know. I know you would never cheat on me, but... I just like knowing that you're mine, nobody else's, and that nobody else can give you the things I can."

Kurt frowns a little. "Bee, of course they can't. Nobody can give me what you do. I am _so_ yours," he reassures, moving a hand from the steering wheel and placing it on Blaine's thigh, flicking his eyes over to look at Blaine for a brief moment, and he sees Blaine offer a small smile.

Blaine places his hand over Kurt's on his leg, giving a small squeeze. "I really love you."

Kurt smiles at that. "I love you, too," he replies, eyes still trained on the road.

"Can we maybe just... agree to not kiss anyone else anymore?" Blaine asks.

"Yeah, I think we can agree to that."

They're silent for the rest of the drive home. Kurt debates whether he should bring up Blaine pinning him to the bed and kissing him, but he's not even sure that Blaine remembers it at this point; before they've arrived home, he's already convinced himself that it's not worth mentioning.

* * *

Kurt walks through the airport, hand in hand with Blaine as his dad, Carole, and Finn trail behind them. Normally he would be too nervous to hold hands with his boyfriend out in public in this part of Ohio, but this is the last time he'll see Blaine for months and he'll be damned if he doesn't make every second count. Suffice to say, it's been an emotional morning in the Hummel-Hudson household.

"This is me," Blaine says, stopping and gesturing at the doorway in front of them.

This is it. Kurt can't follow through those doors. Blaine will walk through those doors, get on that plane to New York, and Kurt will have to wait _months_ to feel his boyfriend's hand in his, Blaine's lips against his own. He feels the tears sting his eyes, threatening to fall, but he's determined not to let them.

"This is you," Kurt replies as calmly as he can, but he can't suppress the small hitch in his voice.

"Hey, hey," Blaine says, dropping Kurt's hand in favour of holding his face and looking into his eyes, "everything will be okay. I'll be back before you know it."

"I know," Kurt sniffles, wiping away a tear as it starts to fall; who was he kidding? There's absolutely no way he's not crying in the middle of this airport.

The rest of the group catches up to them then.

"Have a great flight, Blaine," Carole says, stepping forward and wrapping Blaine in a hug, and Blaine drops his hands from Kurt's face to hug her back. "Let us know when you land and when you're all settled at your apartment," she adds with a warm smile.

"I will," Blaine smiles back.

"Enjoy New York, man," Finn says. "It will be weird without you around."

"Yeah I will, thanks Finn. It will be weird without all you guys, too," Blaine replies as Finn pulls him into an awkward hug.

Burt steps forward and puts a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Good luck, kid. You're going to love New York, and you're going to do great there."

"Thanks, Burt. Really, thank you so much, all of you. You've done a lot for me, and it just... thank you. It means a lot."

"We're always here if you need anything, Blaine. I mean it. Now come 'ere," Burt says, pulling Blaine into a hug.

When Burt lets go, he looks between Kurt and Blaine. "We'll give you kids a minute."

"Thanks, dad," Kurt says, offering a small smile to his father.

Burt, Carole, and Finn wander over to a bench by a far wall, leaving Kurt and Blaine alone.

Kurt steps in front of Blaine, grabs Blaine's hands in his. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I know, love. I'll miss you, too. But we'll be alright," Blaine says, wrapping Kurt up in his arms.

They stand there in the middle of the airport, holding each other for several minutes, until Kurt finally pulls back just a little, enough, that he can place a soft kiss on Blaine's lips. It's the first time they've kissed in such a public place, but Kurt just can't _not_ kiss Blaine right now. Kurt doesn't even try to hide his tears now.

"I love you. I love you so much, Bee."

"I love you too," Blaine responds, and pulls Kurt even closer him, squeezing him in a tight hug.

Kurt never wants this moment to end. He wants to stay here, forever in Blaine's arms, never letting go of this beautiful boy. Blaine pulls back slightly, presses his nose against Kurt's, and the boys giggle. But then Blaine places one more soft and sweet kiss on Kurt's lips before pulling away, out of Kurt's arms.

"I really do have to go," Blaine says, a sad smile on his face as he takes a step back.

"Yeah," Kurt agrees, swallowing; he doesn't think he can hold back the tears if he says anything else.

"I'll text you when I land," Blaine adds, and Kurt just nods.

And then Blaine is walking away, through the doors, and out of sight. Kurt sucks in a ragged breath, wipes the tears from his cheeks with his hands. It's only a few months. It's not like he'll never see Blaine again. He can do this.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic of] The Hazards of Love 1](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27092848) by [backslashdelta_podfics (backslashdelta)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/backslashdelta/pseuds/backslashdelta_podfics)




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